Major Changes
by Sabi'sSookie
Summary: Alice never found Jasper but never stopped looking. Edward never came back after Bella's first day at Forks High. Away at college, Bella drunkenly stumbles across the Major and her life is turned upside down. AU. Whitlocks, Cullens, and Wolves, Oh My!
1. Prologue

**Yeah, I know… another story! But Jasper just wouldn't shut up in my head! Anywho, I hope you all like it! And I'm not Stephenie Meyer, so I don't own Twilight!**

**Prologue**

**BPOV**

My dad always warned me about walking down the streets of Phoenix late at night, but who would have guessed that by not adhering to his words my life would be forever changed.

"Bella, if you'll just wait I'll go with you!" My roommate, Kara, called after me. I call her my roommate because that's all she was (apparently I wasn't a people person according to my high school guidance counselor). Of course, if you asked her she would say we were "like, totally BFF's".

Kara had dragged me to yet another club when all I really wanted to do was be holed up in my dorm room studying. Some people still cared about their education.

"It's fine, Kara. Plus, that guy totally wanted you. You should go and talk to him." I forced a fake smile on my face in hopes that she would allow me to have one night of peace. Maybe she would go home with him instead of bringing him to our one-room dorm. If I had to see one more dick I was going to lose my cool.

"OMG, he totally was, right?" She squealed and I knew that I would get my way. After saying my goodbyes I decided to make the relatively short walk back to the college campus. I wasn't much into the party scene but I had decided long ago that if I was going to be forced to go out, I would at least enjoy a good buzz. So it was no surprise that my clumsy nature mixed with the four Long Island Iced Teas I had consumed was making the walk home much more difficult.

I giggled as I tripped and stumbled along the sidewalk.

"Hey, baby!" Some club rats hooted and hollered as I walked past them.

"Hey!" A generic-looking guy with brown hair, wearing a polo shirt ran to my side.

"Not interested, but thanks." I blushed as I spoke and cursed myself for having that reaction every time a male even spoke to me. What was I, twelve?

"Aren't you in my bio class?" Frat boy was a persistent little bugger.

"Nope. I'm not taking bio this semester, sorry," I replied as I kept walking.

"Um, are you sure?" He stopped in front of me and held his hands up, in an attempt to get me to stop as well.

"Look…" I was cut off by a cough. We both looked in the direction of the sound and saw a tall, blonde male with his arms folded across his chest.

"Dude, seriously, it's rude to interrupt a guy when he's flirting with a pretty girl." Something about the blonde guy's stance told me that the frat boy was barking up the wrong tree.

"Ma'am, why don't you just keep walkin'? Me and this gentleman here are just gonna' have a little chat." The blonde spoke through clenched teeth without ever lifting his head.

Frat boy shivered in what looked like fear, but never moved. Stupid Alpha males and their bull shit. Blondie finally looked up and I was met with eyes as black as coal. In the dim light I couldn't really know for sure, but there seemed to be some sort of scarring on his neck and parts of his face. He looked like a beautiful, scary, warrior. Frat boy should have run, but he was obviously an idiot.

"Why don't we all go our separate ways? No one wants trouble, right?" I looked back and forth between them. The warrior simply narrowed his eyes at me and I could have sworn that he growled, but I was drunk so what did I know, right?

"Yeah, come on sweetness, I'll walk you home," Frat boy put his arm around my shoulder and that time I growled. Blondie chuckled lightly before regaining his hateful glare. It was a shame because he was beautiful when he smiled. Suddenly his eyebrow quirked and his eyes met mine. He looked like he could read my every thought and I instantly felt myself grow red. The warrior was back and his look was even more severe than before.

"No, I think she should go alone, boy. Now back away from the lady and let her get on home." Frat boy recoiled as if he'd been hit but he backed away.

It was as if there was a big neon sign over Blondie that spelled out trouble for Frat boy and I knew that if I left something bad would happen.

"Maybe I could use an escort home. These streets can be pretty dangerous at night. Would one of you guys mind?" Was I stupid? Hell yes. But something told me that it was necessary. Blondie growled again and it almost sounded like the low rumble of a lion, but I pushed it aside.

"Come on," Blondie spoke up before Frat boy had a chance and we were off.

"What's your name?" I asked after we had walked in total silence for a good ten minutes.

"Not important," was his curt reply.

"Mine is Bella. Well, Isabella, but I prefer Bella." He didn't even so much as acknowledge me until I tripped and fell into him. Damn he smelled good; like worn leather, sweet pipe tobacco, and grass after the rain. Those scents may not sound appealing, but for some reason they worked on him. He just smelled like man.

Drunk internal ramblings, much?

He didn't say a word, but his eyes turned almost pitch black and his nostrils flared with every deep breath he took. I watched as his jaw clenched and unclenched, while his grip on my arms grew tighter.

"Major!" A good looking blonde couple appeared, seemingly, out of nowhere and Blondie turned his murderous gaze on them.

"Major, let's get you some dinner and let this nice young lady get on home now." The male looked relatively similar to the "Major". Both had dirty blonde hair, but where the Major's hung in shaggy curls, the other male's was more of a short, traditional cut.

"Come on, Sugar. I'll walk you the rest of the way." The female finally spoke and when my eyes met hers I gasped out loud.

"Holy shit!" I half whispered, half yelled. Her eyes were bright red. All three of them stared at me before looking back and forth between one another. Their mouths were moving so quickly that I couldn't be sure, but I thought that they were speaking to one another.

"What the hell are you?" I finally screeched. See, and that is why Bella Swan should never drink alcohol; no verbal filter.

"Sugar, I think you need to keep quiet just now," The petite female whispered but I had a sneaking suspicion that the other two heard her plain as day.

Their lips were all moving frantically again and the couple were gesturing wildly with their hands while the _Major_ stood, never taking his murderous gaze off me. I made sure to meet his eyes with my own because my dad, the cop, had told me that a criminal is more likely to see you as a person if you look them in the eye. If they saw you as a person they were more likely to let you go.

"My name is Bella Swan. I am twenty-one years old and I am a student at Arizona State. I have a 4.0 GPA and I like to read a lot. My dad is Chief of Police in a small town in Washington State and my mom is married to a baseball player. I am an only child!" The Major had pulled himself from his friend's grasp, unaffected by my nervous rant, and was slowly stalking toward me. "I'm a virgin, for crying out loud!"

They wouldn't kill a virgin, right? No one is that cruel.

That outburst seemed to stop them all dead in their tracks until the couple both burst into laughter.

"It's decided, Major. We simply have to keep her!" The male exclaimed between chuckles.

"Keep me? Like what, a pet?" For some reason they laughed even harder while the Major simply smirked a little and folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, then one of you fuckers better carry her or she may not make it." The Major finally spoke and as terrified as I was, there was also an underlying current of anger.

"I'm gonna' get me some supper and I'll meet you two later. Get 'er home."

"Yes, Major," They both answered and in the blink of an eye he was gone.

"All right, Darlin'. Now who would you rather have carry you? Me or my beautiful little wife?"

I looked at the woman who was basically my size with bigger breasts and let out a nervous giggle.

"No offense, but wouldn't I be a bit heavy for you?" She laughed heartily before walking over to a car parked on the curb and lifting it with one hand.

"That answer your question, Sugar?" I felt my mouth drop open and I simply stood there in total shock.

"Darlin', you better close that mouth or you're gonna' catch flies. I'm Peter, by the way, and that fine piece of woman over there is my Charlotte. Now we better get goin' if we wanna' beat the Major home."

No longer giving me an option Peter lifted me over his shoulder and with a pat on my ass we were off.

"Peter, you better watch yourself. Once Jasper figures things out he might get awful pissed about that." Charlotte scolded playfully. I had no idea what they were talking about and neither did I care. I was much more preoccupied with the speed at which we were moving… on foot.

Eventually, my nerves won out and I fainted. Or maybe I passed out from the alcohol. Either way I couldn't help but hope that I would wake up in my own bed and that this would all be a strange dream.

**Sooooooo…. What did you think? Not sure? Well I'll be posting the first chapter later today, so you guys should let me know if you want more or not!**


	2. Chapter 1

**The response to the Prologue was awesome! So are you guys ready for the first chapter?**

**As always, I am not SM and I own nothing Twilight related… other than a very unhealthy obsession!**

**Chapter 1**

**BPOV**

I woke to muffled voices and a pounding headache. "_Never drinking again"_ Was all I could think. That was until I realized that I wasn't in my dorm room and the voices I was hearing weren't coming from my obnoxious roommate and her flavor of the night.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," was all I could say as I stood up, trying to gain my bearings.

"Shit? Really, Sugar? That's the best you can do?" The blonde woman… Charlotte (see I remembered things) approached me as if I was a scared animal and I suppose in a sense I was.

"What the hell is wrong with you people… er things… whatever you are? You can't just kidnap me like that? My dad is going to freak!" Should I have been antagonizing the freakishly strong and fast people with the demon eyes? Probably not, but I never claimed to have a lot of common sense.

Peter and Charlotte laughed at me and I should have stopped there, but me and my big mouth just weren't cooperating with my sense of reason.

"Well, I am soooo pleased that I amuse you!" I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

"You're a little spit fire, aren't ya'?" Peter asked, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Would you two stop playing with the human?" Jasper, Major, whatever the hell his name was spoke, alerting me to his presence.

In the light of day he was much more beautiful than he had been in the dark. His scarred body was pale and his honey curls gave him an almost boyish look which was a direct contrast to what I knew of him. This man was dangerous to the extreme. He sort of reminded me of someone that I couldn't quite place, and didn't have the time or patience to think any deeper on the subject.

"The human? As opposed to what?" I was internally cursing these assholes for not just coming out with it.

"As opposed to not human." Jasper simply answered and I wanted to scream.

"Look, if you are going to kill me will you just get it over with?" I looked between all of them but my eyes lingered the longest on Jasper who simply smirked at me.

"Now, Darlin' why would you think we're gonna' kill you?" Peter asked, holding back a chuckle. I was tired of playing with them.

"Fine! Then I'm going home!" I resisted the urge to stomp my foot like a tantrum-throwing child.

"Sorry, Sugar, but that's a no-can-do," Charlotte smiled sympathetically at me.

"I don't understand!" I cried, a few tears falling from my eyes.

"Could you make it stop leaking?" Jasper rolled his ruby eyes, looking bored.

"Why are you such an asshole?" I screamed at him, not even remotely caring that he could probably snap me like a twig.

Jasper actually broke out into a full laugh and we all looked at him like he was insane. I was beginning to think that they all were.

"Really, Major? There's no need to be so mean to the poor girl." Peter was shaking his head, but kept his signature smirk.

"Can someone let me in on the joke because I don't find this funny at all! If you're not going to kill me, and you apparently can't stand me, why can't I just go home? I'm not going to tell anyone about this… not that anyone would believe me anyway. So, what's the big damn deal?"

"Look, Sugar, we do like you and that's exactly why you can't go anywhere. See, when you are exposed to… our world… well, there are certain rules. We can't let you go without killing you. And I know for a fact that my lug of a husband has taken quite a shine to you as have I. As for Jasper, you just don't worry about him." Jasper snorted at her and walked out of the room.

"Well, then if you're 'keeping me' then why don't you just tell me what it is that you are? At least then I know what the hell I'm dealing with!" I hit my knees with the weight of everything that had happened over the past 24 hours. I was surrounded by crazies who may or may not kill me. One of the crazies being an asshole and the other two were possibly smoking some of the good stuff because they just thought the whole situation was one big joke.

My tears turned into sobs and I found myself gasping for air. My dad always warned me about getting into these types of situations, but did I listen? Noooo! I had to walk home alone! Now I may never see him or my crazy ass mother again.

As if it came out of nowhere a wave of calm washed over me and I was able to breathe again. I looked up to see the Major (I had decided that I wouldn't call him by his real name since he was such a dick, and calling him the Major seemed more fitting) standing in the doorway looking at me with some unidentifiable emotion. That was enough to sober me up. There was no way that I could let these people, or whatever they were, win. I may be stuck with them, but I would not show weakness. I wasn't quite sure what they wanted, but I wasn't giving it to them.

The Major raised an eyebrow at me as I stood and lifted my chin in the air. Quickly, I turned away from him to look at Charlotte.

"Well, you guys may not be human, but I am, and I think if you are holding me captive you should at least supply me with the basic human needs. I would like food, some clean clothes, and a nice hot shower."

Peter chuckled before answering. "Of course, Princess, anything you need. We live to serve."

I could tell he was being a sarcastic ass, but I could have cared less. I'd show him princess.

"Come on, hun, you can use my shower and some of my clothes while Peter goes to get you some food." She glared at him and the Major as we walked out of the room. While the Major may have been the hard-ass of the group, I could tell that Charlotte ruled the roost.

"Charlotte?" I spoke barely above a whisper.

"Yes?" She spoke as she dug around in her drawers for something for me to wear.

"Why me? I mean, I really just don't understand all of this. My whole life has been one boring step after another. I've never done anything or really even been anywhere. I'm nothing special, so why me?" Charlotte looked at me like I had just asked her to solve world hunger.

"Sweets, it's partially that you were in the wrong place at the right time… or the right place depending on how you view the situation. The other part I don't think you are ready to hear yet. All I can say is that you are important and more special than you will ever know. You are his salvation."

Her answer seemed to generate more questions than it answered.

"I don't understand. Who am I supposed to save? I'm just a human, as the Major keeps reminding me. What can I do?"

"More than you know, Sweets. More than you know." She paused for a moment as if she was listening for something before speaking again. "There are towels and wash rags on the counter and all the soaps and hair products are under the sink. Just take your pick."

With that she was gone in the time it would have taken me to blink. This speed of theirs would take some getting used to for me.

The shower was huge and the water pressure was amazing. It would have been the most pleasurable shower of my life had I not been thinking about my parents. Had they been made aware of my disappearance yet? Has anyone even noticed that I was gone?

The truth was that it was a very real possibility that no one had even noticed. I didn't really have any friends, and my roommate wouldn't notice if I never came back, which was looking more likely. I thought about all the things I promised myself that I would do with my life. It looked like all my promises would be left empty as my life was no longer my own. I fought back the tears that threatened to fall and finished washing up.

After brushing my teeth and getting dressed I made my way downstairs to hear arguing.

"So, are you going to tell me what the hell this is all about?" I recognized the Major's voice and immediately stopped moving on the stairs.

"That would be a no, Jasper. You aren't ready to know anything yet. When you are, you won't need me to tell you." I could practically hear Peter smirking.

I heard growling before the Major spoke again. "Would you stop with the Yoda shit and just tell me what the fuck is going on? Since when did we start playing with our food?"

Did he just say food? I fought the back the bile that had begun to make its way up my throat. If I was food, then that meant that they were… what, exactly?

"I think we have company." Charlotte's voice floated through the room.

Suddenly the Major was in front of me, his eyes as black as coal. "Didn't anyone teach you it's not polite to eavesdrop?"

"Didn't anyone teach you it's not polite to kidnap people? And apparently you like to play with your food as well! That's what I am, right?" I looked over his shoulder where he stood below me on the stairs, to glare at Peter and Charlotte.

"Fattening me up first?" I seethed.

"Well, you are on the skinny side," The Major smirked and I fought the urge to junk punch him.

"Jasper!" Charlotte scolded before pushing him aside and wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"Hun, don't you worry about it. No one here is going to eat you." I knew that she meant to be soothing, but really, she just made me feel worse. I was confused and angry, and to be honest, scared shitless.

I jerked away from her and walked to the living room where I plopped my human self on the couch. Placing my face in my hands I spoke without looking at any of them.

"So, you're cannibals?"

"In a way, I suppose," the Major answered.

"I would say that you are more like a milkshake as opposed to a burger, though." I felt the couch dip next to me and looked up to see Peter smiling. He was looking at me like what he just said should clear things up so I thought about it.

Basically he was telling me that they drink people… holy shit! Vampires! I jumped off the couch and began pacing the room. I was kidnapped by good looking, sarcastic, super-speed, super-strength, blood-drinking, VAMPIRES! I was determined that the whole scenario was some sort of elaborate booze-induced dream.

I pinched, poked, and prodded myself in an effort to come out of it, but nothing worked. Once I convinced myself that I was, in fact, awake I sat back on the couch in a huff.

"So, if you aren't going to eat me then what the hell am I doing here?" I looked between Peter and Charlotte.

"I'd like to hear the answer to that myself." The Major crossed his arms over his chest and scrunched up his face into an almost-pout. He actually looked sort of cute for a blood-sucking asshole.

"All I'm sayin' is that Bella is supposed to be here and that you will both get the answers you seek in the end."

"Is he always such a PITA?" I looked at the Major.

"PITA?" He questioned.

"Yeah, you know… pain in the ass. P-I-T-A." The Major actually cracked a genuine smile and nodded his head.

"Yes, he always is. He thinks he's Yoda or some shit. If he wasn't my brother I would have killed him by now." Charlotte hissed at the Major's last comment and he simply shrugged. I couldn't help the giggle that escaped me and quickly covered my mouth.

"See, Darlin', we're not that bad," Peter offered.

"Speak for yourself," the Major mumbled.

"You won't hear any arguments from me, Major." I agreed with him and he once again raised an eyebrow. I looked closely and noticed a scar, like the others covering his body, right above that very eyebrow. Before I could stop myself I was standing in front of him, tracing the scar.

The Major's eyes closed and his nostrils flared as I traced the outline, but he didn't move away so I continued my exploration. The scars were more concentrated on his arms, but there were quite a few on his neck and even a few on his face. They were paler than the rest of his skin, with almost a silver glint to them. And they were actually colder than the rest of him, which was saying a lot as he was freezing. A sound came from his throat that sounded almost like a purring cat and then he was across the room, growling.

"Calm down, Major. She didn't mean any harm." Peter positioned himself in front of me in a half-crouch while the Major continued to growl loudly from across the room.

"Really, I didn't. I was just curious." I spoke from behind Peter.

"Don't you know that curiosity is a dangerous thing, little girl? You should learn some manners before I'm forced to teach you," he spat before crashing through the front door, splintering it to pieces.

"Shouldn't someone go after him?" I asked, my eyes glued to the spot where the front door used to be.

"No, Sugar, he just needs to blow off some steam," Charlotte answered in a kind voice.

"I didn't mean to upset him. It's just… they look like _bite marks_."

"That's because they are, Sweets," Peter stated, getting a faraway look in his eye. He rolled up his own sleeves and showed me the scars that marred his own cold flesh.

"Do all vampires have these?" I asked as Charlotte showed me her scars as well.

"Well, we all have the transformation marks, but the three of us were brought into this existence in a much different manner than most." Peter said nothing more on the subject, instead choosing to go into the kitchen and make an attempt at making human food.

"He has so many," I whispered to Charlotte. She knew that I was talking about the Major and nodded.

"He had it the worst. He's really not a bad man, Bella. He just doesn't know how to just be himself without war and destruction. He is filled with so much self-hatred. He can feel emotions, you know. Every person he kills… he feels what they feel. And, Bella, he has killed a lot of people, humans and vampires alike. He tries to use his gift to make things easier for them, but the fear is always present."

"Char!" Peter warned before she could tell me anything more. I walked to the front door looking out at the vast desert that surrounded the home, wondering what had happened to them. I felt a small tug at my heart, but shut it down quickly. No matter what happened they were killers. Although, I suppose they had to sustain themselves somehow.

The Major was not back before I went to bed. I admit that I waited up as long as I could. Something about him filled my heart with sadness. My whole life had been spent feeling sorry for myself for having to take care of my mother or for never getting enough time with my father. I hated that I was plain and shy. But this man had lived through things that I probably couldn't even imagine, and I highly doubted that he chose this life. I wanted to talk to him and tell him how sorry I was for offending him, but my human body failed me and I passed out on the couch.

I had no idea what time it was when I felt myself being lifted from my position on the world's most comfy couch, but from the temperature of the arms that held me, I knew it was one of my friendly captors. Probably Peter. He seemed like the nurturing type. Well, when he wasn't being a sarcastic ass. I remember thinking that whoever it was smelled good; familiar somehow, but I was barely conscious so I didn't think any further on it.

"Hmmm…" I hummed and buried myself further under the down comforter and awesome ass sheets. I was determined that I would be pried from that bed over my cold, dead body and giggled when I realized how close I was to just that happening. I knew then that I was losing my mind being around the crazies.

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," I mumbled between giggles. It was then I was alerted to a presence by the clearing of a throat. Slowly, I peeked from under my downy heaven to see a curious Major looking at me.

"Well, if you're offerin'," he smirked.

"Smartass," I said before throwing the covers back over my head.

"Now, now, didn't your momma teach you to respect your elders little girl?" He yanked the covers so that I was completely uncovered.

"My 'momma', as you call her, didn't teach me anything except how _not_ to be a parent. Now, if you don't mind, I was enjoying myself." He raised an eyebrow and I felt myself blush to my toes when I realized how that sounded.

"Hmm, well you did sound like you were having fun. Need some help?" I almost choked on air as the asshole stood there actually looking serious… and sexy. _Shit, sexy? Really, Bella?_

"No?" My voice squeaked and it came out as a question. He looked at me for a few moments before laughing and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I believe Charlotte is attempting to make you breakfast downstairs. For some reason they thought I would be the best choice for waking you."

"What in the name of David Hasselhoff would make them think that?" I smirked at him and he smiled lightly before going back to his normal look of disdain.

"Yes, well, either way," he trailed off before walking out of the room.

I huffed and puffed all the way down the stairs, pretending to be annoyed about being awoken, but the smoke that billowed from the kitchen and the yelling I heard stopped me in my tracks.

"It's fire! Isn't water the cure for fire? I mean, shouldn't water put it out?" Peter was yelling as Charlotte began looking around for something to help the situation. The Major was barking orders to just let the "fucking house burn down" and that he'd buy them a new one. I casually walked into the chaos and found a lone box of baking soda in the fridge. With a yawn I dumped the baking soda into the pan and walked over to the counter, feeling very proud of myself.

"I don't get it," Peter blanched.

"You can't put a grease fire out with water. You need baking soda." I stated simply.

Charlotte was jumping up and down and waving her hands in an attempt to make the fire alarm stop beeping and with ease, I fixed that problem as well; this time with a good whack with a broom. Being raised by an incompetent mother had its advantages. She taught me many things, even if only by watching her fail.

"Well, would ya' look at that? Humans can be useful for somethin' more than sustainin' us," I once again fought the urge to smack the Major upside his pretty head.

"Yes, well, I have yet to find a use for you… other than being annoying as shit." Peter and Charlotte chuckled at my retort.

"Oh, little girl, you think you're amusing don't you?" The Major came closer until he had me pushed against the counter, his arms around me like a cage.

"No, I just decided that you're either going to kill me or you aren't. What's the point in walking on egg shells?" We continued our little staring contest until I was once again transfixed by his scars.

"Who did this to you?" I once again traced the scar above his eyebrow.

"I think she's defective. She has absolutely no sense of self-preservation." The Major addressed the other vampires in the room without taking his eyes off of me.

"I'm sorry this happened to you," I whispered and he visibly flinched but did not move away. Instead he closed his eyes and rested his forehead on my shoulder, breathing deeply.

I had the strongest urge to run my fingers through his loose curls, and for once I didn't fight it. While he wasn't completely comfortable with the contact he allowed it.

"Who are you?" He asked softly, never moving from his position.

"No one," I answered, allowing my hands to drop from his hair.

**Alice POV**

"Edward, there isn't time for your indecision! She is already involved in this life! I don't care what you want! This is my chance to find him, and you won't stop me!"

He was so damn stubborn. He had seen all the visions, and he knew the consequences if we let things go on as they were. We both had a chance at love and his reluctance was going to ruin everything.

I had been having visions of Jasper Whitlock since I awoke from the change, but was never able to pin down his location. Now that he had Bella Swan, I knew that there was a chance at finding him. I just needed to know where she had been living. They wouldn't be far.

"You're right, Alice. I'm beginning to think my leaving when she came to Forks did no good. She has been thrown into our world anyway. All this time we could have been together… wasted."

I internally did a happy dance at Edward's final acceptance. I would have my mate and a new sister! He picked up his cell phone and dialed the one man who would have no trouble finding information on Bella Swan.

"Jenks? I have a very important job for you."

**And there are the Cullens. Before you ask, Alice and Edward are not evil. I thought it was time for a change and make them likeable in a non-canon story! Don't forget to leave some love people!**

**And for those who are wondering, I hope to update twice a week, but at the least it will be once a week. Especially for all you Retribution readers… I won't leave you hanging!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Sorry it's taken so long! I have a teething child who I was positive was possessed for a while! He's doing a bit better, so here's to hoping!**

**I don't own anything Twilight (besides the books and my obsession).**

**Chapter 2**

"So, Bella, what do you want to do today?" Charlotte sat next to me on the couch, a little too close for my personal taste, not that it mattered.

"Well, since it's not like I can really go anywhere, I am going to sit my ass on this fantastic couch and watch some trash TV."

"That's it?" She asked me, shocked.

"What the hell else am I supposed to do? Plus, I've been so busy with school that I am way behind on my Maury."

"Maury? What the hell is a Maury?" Peter sat on the other side of me.

"Oh, just sit back and watch. It's the funniest, most entertaining thing I have ever seen!" I laughed, knowing that they would love it.

After the fifth "you are not the father" Peter and Charlotte were practically rolling on the floor with laughter.

"Did you see the way that heifer hit the floor? 'Oh Lawd! Ahhhh!'" Peter was doing a great impression of the woman who had just been on the show for the third time and once again had not found her baby's daddy.

"Why in the hell would you go on national television and make an ass of yourself if you know there is more than one possibility? But you were right, Bella, this is hilarious!" Charlotte was talking in between chuckles, never taking her eyes off the screen.

The Major had left to go "hunting" since it was a cloudy day. I suspected that he just wanted to get away from whatever the hell happened between us in the kitchen. I couldn't blame him. I was pretty freaked out myself. So after Maury we spent the rest of the day watching Judge Judy, Divorce Court, and Judge Mathis. By the end of the day, I realized that I had created trash TV monsters. When they discovered the show Cheaters, I knew they were goners.

"What the hell have you three been doing all day?" The Major walked in, refusing to look in my direction.

"Jasper, Bella has introduced us to the wonder that is craptastic reality TV!" Peter's eyes stayed trained on the lady who was currently beating the shit out of her cheating husband.

"I see. Have you even remembered to feed her?" The Major asked, actually sounding concerned.

"I fed myself, believe it or not. I have been doing it for twenty-two years now." I rolled my eyes but smiled softly at him. Yeah, so I was warming up to him just a little.

The rest of the week passed in a blur. I was not used to doing nothing, and became worried that my ass was going to get as wide as a house.

"I'm going for a walk!" I jumped off the couch and all three vampires looked at me like I had grown a second head.

"I don't think so, little girl." Jasper frowned. We had come to a silent agreement of sorts. I wanted to get to know him and he tolerated me. Though, I thought that he secretly liked having me around as he was never far away.

"If I don't get out of this house I am going to offer myself up as dinner just for an escape! I'm not going to run away, I just need some damn air!"

A full week of being cooped up in a house with none of my own things to occupy me was making me question my sanity. I was calling the Major Jasper in my head, for crying out loud! For a person who was always busy with school work or taking care of irresponsible parents, sitting on my ass had never been an option. I found that I didn't care for it.

"Then I'm going with you," Jasper growled and all of our heads snapped up to look at him.

I didn't have time to contemplate his statement because he had grabbed my arm and began dragging me out the door.

"I need shoes!" I cried as he threw me on his back and took off running. I clung to him as everything whipped past in a frightening blur. I buried my face in his neck and allowed his scent to calm me. Shut up, the man smelled damn good!

When we finally stopped, he dropped me to the ground and I huffed in annoyance.

"Is it necessary to be an ass all of the time?" I screeched.

"No, but it's who I am," he shrugged and I felt bad for him in that moment.

"I don't think so. Not really, anyway." I picked at the hem of my shirt, avoiding looking at him.

"Really? Well, why don't you enlighten me, little girl?"

"Look, I have no idea what you've been through, but from those scars and your permanent scowl, I can tell that it was bad. I get that. But your past doesn't have to dictate who you are now. You have kindness in you. I see it sometimes." I whispered the last sentence but I know that he heard me.

"I was a good man once. I took care of my momma and my little sisters when my pa died. I fought for the South when my time came, and was the youngest Major in the Confederate Army. I always did my duty and treated people with respect. So when three women were seemingly stranded in the middle of nowhere, I offered my assistance. Little did I know that they needed no help from me." He took deep, unnecessary breaths before continuing.

"Maria was thirsty for power and she saw something in me that she wanted. She had created an army of newborn vampires in order to fight for territory. The humans had no idea that their country was in more than one war. Vampires were fighting for territory… for food. Maria used my gift to control newborns.

"You see, when we are first turned, newborns have a period of about a year when we are at our strongest. We are also our most volatile. My gift helped, but not enough." He pushed up his sleeves and his scars shone more brightly in the dim sunlight. I had seen Charlotte sparkle in the sun, so it was no surprise, but Jasper's scars only added to the beauty. He thought they made him scary and hideous. To me, they made him more perfect.

"After their year, if they had no extraordinary talents it was my job to dispose of them. As you can imagine, they were never very willing to accept their fate. I was always rewarded with sex and blood, and at the time it was all I knew.

"When Maria ordered that I kill Char, I simply couldn't. Peter was my friend, my brother, and I couldn't take away the thing that he loved the most in this horrible world. I helped them escape and I was punished heavily."

"What did she do to you?" I asked quietly. Somehow during his story, I had ended up in his lap, tracing the scars on his arms.

"She placed me in a pit with twelve newborns and told me that if I survived then she would forgive me. Killing was all I knew."

Jasper was silent after that and I laid my head on his shoulder, allowing my fingers to run over his marred skin.

"Jasper, you did what you had to in order to survive. You sacrificed yourself in order to allow your friend to have the best life he could with the woman he loves. You are still a good man, Jasper. You just have to let yourself see it."

"I'll always be an asshole," he mumbled.

"I know," I smiled up at him.

"In this life I've only ever had two friends, and they're clinically insane." His bright red eyes bored into mine.

"Well, now you have three." My hand cupped his cheek and he leaned into my touch. The purring sound was back and this time he didn't react badly. He simply allowed it. I knew that he could feel my emotions so I concentrated on feeling as much trust and affection as I could muster.

"Thank you," he whispered.

At some point I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up I was in my bed and it was the next morning.

"Jasper!" I squealed as he threw me into the water.

After the day of our "talk" he had come out of his shell a little more. As he warned, he was still an ass, but he was trying. Sometimes I caught him watching me with a small smile, to which I would blush and smile in return. Sometimes I would even be brave enough to show some sort of physical affection; the trace of a scar, a quick run of my fingers through his hair. Once there was even a kiss on the cheek, but it was spur of the moment and due to the game he had made of throwing emotions around the room.

On this particular day, Jasper had decided that a swim was a necessity during one of our walks. I sputtered and cursed as I reached to surface of the water, which sent him into hysterics. A laughing Jasper was rare, and as such, a welcome sight. The look of danger was always there, but he looked freer. I was happy to make his life better, if only for a moment.

"Well, get your ass in the water! This was your brilliant idea to begin with!" I shouted from where he had thrown me. He quickly removed his shirt, jeans, and boots before diving gracefully into the water. I found myself unexpectedly disappointed that he didn't go commando.

Seeing him without a shirt was a rare sight, but I had finally assured him that there was nothing wrong with his scars. My determination to show the man how beautiful he was, was finally paying off. Jasper was my friend, and I never allowed my friends to feel bad about themselves.

I felt Jasper swim underneath me and I knew it was coming before he did it. He yanked on my legs, dragging me under the water. He was being playful, and even though there was water up my nose, I couldn't be angry with him.

"You're just full of it today, aren't you?" I asked when we came up for air.

"What can I say? You're rubbing off on me." He shrugged and almost looked embarrassed.

"Aw, you're cute when you're not being a jerk!" I said as I splashed him with water.

"Yeah, well, you have your moments too, I suppose."

I laid, floating on my back, forgetting that my white tank top was soaked through. I looked over at Jasper to see him blatantly staring at my chest.

"Hey, perv! My eyes are up here!" He growled at me playfully and I began to swim away. I knew that I couldn't get away if I tried, but it annoyed him anyway.

Cold arms wrapped around my waist and I giggled as he pulled me to him.

"You shouldn't tease the blood-thirsty monster, little girl," Jasper chuckled and I relaxed into him. I could feel that my skin was burnt and the coolness of him felt amazing.

"Your skin feels good," I spoke without thinking as I was prone to doing.

I felt the rumbling in his chest before he turned me around to face him. He must have been losing a little of his control because he was projecting his feelings of confusion and… desire? My eyes widened in shock and my mouth opened in a little "o".

"Little girl?" He questioned when I licked my lips. His eyes were pitch black, and his nickname for me sounded much sweeter than usual.

My hand went to its usual place at the scar above his eyebrow and his eyes flickered from my eyes to my lips. The emotions crackled between us like electricity and I found myself wishing that he would press his cold lips to mine. I would have done it myself if I wasn't so insecure in what his reaction would be.

"Major! We have a problem!" We looked at each other a second longer before turning our attention to an apologetic looking Peter. I made to move away, but Jasper kept me in his arms as he swam us both to the shore.

"What is it?" Jasper growled, obviously sensing something in Peter's emotions.

"Company's comin'," was Peter's only reply.

"How many? Do we need to get Bella out of here?" Jasper's grip tightened on me as I looked between him and Peter.

"I don't think they pose a danger to her physically." Peter reached to take me from Jasper who reluctantly placed me in his arms while he got dressed.

I wasn't exactly sure how Peter's gift worked. All he would say was that he "knew shit". It wasn't like visions, but more of feelings that alerted him to something. It was how he knew that I was going to be part of his family the second he laid eyes on me.

"It's a whole coven, but I don't know an exact number, Major." Gone was the carefree Jasper as the Major took his place. As gently as he could, being in Major mode, he took me from Peter and wrapped my legs around his waist before taking off into a run toward the house.

"How long?" Jasper asked when we walked through the front door.

"Half hour, maybe?"

"Little girl, why don't you go and get a shower and get dressed?" He set me on my feet and nodded toward the stairs.

"Okay," I placed my hand on his cheek, hating that this part of him was taking over again. I was internally cursing whoever was coming for putting him on alert that way.

My shower was rushed and I dressed quickly, anxious to get back downstairs. The sight that greeted me was strange. Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte were on the front porch growling loudly at the visitors standing on the lawn. I made my way in Jasper's direction, trying to peek around him. His hand came out, pulling me into his back.

"Jasper," I whispered lightly rubbing his back in an effort to offer some sort of comfort to him. A loud growl came from the visitors and Jasper responded with one of his own. His body was practically vibrating in anger. I looked around him to see the Cullens in all their glory with Alice and Edward front and center.

I hadn't seen Edward since my first day at Forks High when he scared the piss out of me. I always wondered what caused that reaction in him, but when I never saw him again, the curiosity wore off. Alice had always been pleasant to me. She always seemed to want to talk to me, but hesitated.

"Jasper, why are the Cullens here?" I whispered and his head snapped in my direction.

"You know them?" He growled.

"They went to my high school, well, except Edward… and Carlisle was my doctor." I answered him, but he still seemed angry.

"Jazzy," Alice spoke and Jasper turned back to her scowling, presumably at the nickname.

"We don't mean any harm," Carlisle spoke, stepping to the front of their group. "Perhaps we could come inside and explain everything?"

Jasper's arm reached around to pull me lighter against his back.

"Wait? Are you guys…" I trailed off.

"They are vampires, little girl." Jasper spoke through clenched teeth.

"But their eyes?" I was confused. The Cullens didn't have the red eyes I had come to associate with vampires.

"We feed from animals, Isabella. It gives our eyes a golden color," Edward answered causing Jasper to growl loudly.

"You can survive from animal blood?" I asked in shock. If that were the case, why would Jasper, Peter, and Char kill people?

Jasper must have felt my hurt and confusion and for the first time since they arrived, turned his back on the Cullens.

"I didn't know another way, little girl." He was pleading with his eyes for me to understand.

"Okay, Jasper," I whispered, touching his scar gently. It had become my way of communicating my affection for him.

"Jazzy," Alice addressed him once again and Charlotte growled at her.

"Do you know who you are talking to?" Char spat. "This is the God of War, and you will address him as such."

Alice simply smiled like she knew something that we didn't and nodded her head. "My apologies, Charlotte. I meant no disrespect."

"Alice," Edward spoke to her, "his thoughts indicate more than you let on."

"It will work out, Edward." Was her response.

"You've seen this?" Edward asked, his tone laced with disbelief.

"No, but I know. We're in time. We have to be." She looked a little scared but immediately went back to her cheerful demeanor.

"Are we just gonna' stand here all day, or are we gonna' get this show on the road?" Emmett, the largest Cullen spoke and gave me a wink. I giggled in response to which Jasper shot me a glare over his shoulder.

"Fine," Jasper relented as he lifted me into his arms and carried me into the house. He sat in the large lounge chair and pulled me into his lap while everyone else filtered into the room. Peter and Char each took a place at Jasper's and my sides while the Cullens placed themselves at different parts of the room.

"Isabella," Edward almost sighed my name and I looked at him in confusion. His voice was filled with a strange emotion that sounded like longing.

"She prefers Bella," Jasper growled and pulled me closer to him.

"I think she can speak for herself," Edward retorted, his lip pulling up into a sneer.

"Edward, don't provoke him," Alice hissed. "Your time will come. Be patient for once in your existence. If you hadn't run away in the first place we wouldn't be in this mess."

"If someone doesn't start explaining right now you can get the hell out of my house." Jasper spoke, silencing all other conversation.

Carlisle cleared his throat, indicating to his family that he was taking control.

"I apologize, Major. You see, my daughter, Alice has been having visions of you since she awakened to this life. She has been looking for you for years. When Bella came to Forks, she began having visions of Bella becoming a part of our family, but Edward left, altering that reality. A few weeks ago, to her shock, she began having visions of Bella here with you and she knew that was her way of finding you."

"What are these visions supposed to mean to us, exactly?" Jasper asked.

"We were meant to be mates," Alice answered cheerfully and Jasper stiffened beneath me. Panic flooded my body. I wondered what that meant for me. Would Jasper dispose of me?

"Calm down, little girl. Her visions don't mean anything." Jasper's voice was like a balm for my out of control emotions. He grabbed my hand and placed it so that my fingers were touching his scar.

"But they do!" She cried. "We were supposed to meet in a diner before I went to the Cullens, but you never showed. It was love at first sight! And Bella was meant for Edward! She is his singer and he resisted!"

At the mention of me being Edward's singer, whatever that was, Jasper growled loudly.

"I'm afraid that you are wrong, Pixie," Peter spoke since Jasper seemed incapable of anything but growling and snarling. "You and the Major are not, nor were you ever meant to be, mates. And our princess here belongs in this family."

The whole thing confused me to no end and I was internally freaking out, but Jasper needed to be calmed more than me. So I began sending him as much affection and calm as I could muster under the circumstances and twirled a strand of his hair. He buried his face in my neck and breathed deeply.

"I can feel his blood lust, little girl. He will kill you," he whispered to me, still shaking.

"Shhh, he won't, Major. None of them have ever tried to hurt me." I assured him the best I could and shot a glance to Edward for confirmation.

"She is perfectly safe with _us_," Edward answered and no one missed how he emphasized the word us, indicating that he thought I was not safe with Jasper, Peter, and Char.

"Edward," Alice hissed then looked at him for a few moments.

"You're a mind reader," Peter stated and my head snapped in Edward's direction.

"Yes, I can read every mind in this room, except yours." He spoke directly to me and I breathed a sigh of relief. Jasper, however, did not. Instead he seemed to be concentrating rather hard on something.

"And you think you will?" Edward spat, I assumed he was answering one of Jasper's thoughts.

"I never said that, but I know for sure that you, nor any of your coven will." Jasper and Edward stared one another down before I decided enough was enough.

"Okay, enough of this talking with your mind shit! If you can't share with the rest of the class then you don't share at all!"

The Cullens, with the exception of Emmett whose booming laughter filled the room, looked between Jasper and me as if they were waiting for him to snap at me. I simply rolled my eyes at the thought. I wasn't afraid of Jasper. I was, however afraid of what the Cullens would mean for the peace that Jasper had seemed to find.

"Yes, dear," Jasper shocked everyone by joking with me and lowering his head. I pushed his shoulder and decided it was time for a human moment. Jasper tightened his grip.

"Um, unless you're planning on carrying me to the bathroom, then I suggest you let me go. They won't hurt me, Jay." I whispered the last part just for him, though I'm sure everyone in the room heard me.

He nodded in response and when I got up I noticed he fingered my favorite scar.

I returned from the bathroom to shouting and snarling.

"What the hell is going on here?" I yelled.

"These _Cullens_ want to _tame_ me and marry you off to this _boy_." Jasper was seething and I knew he was close to losing it.

"No one is trying to do any such thing," I assured him while shooting a glare at the Cullens.

"Isabella, why don't we go for a walk? I'll explain everything to you." Edward either had balls of steel or a death wish because the Major was out in full force and not in the mood to be toyed with.

"Maybe it would be a better idea for me to explain things, Edward. Would that be all right, Major?" Alice spoke sweetly and I was glad to see that Jasper seemed at least a little more accepting of that idea, but not much.

"Anything you have to say can be said here," he growled.

"Oh shush! Alice and I will be fine, and you obviously won't give her a chance to explain. I want to know what the hell is going on around here and she has answers." I spoke with authority.

"Isabella," Edward warned. I could tell he was worried about Jasper's reaction to my tone.

"He's fine, and he won't hurt me! Geez! If he hasn't killed me yet, then I highly doubt he will. Now you all play nice while we're gone." With one more touch to Jasper's scar I grabbed Alice's hand and we were out the door.

"Well, that went well, don't you think?" She asked and we both giggled.

**So, don't forget to let me know what you think! A lot of you were concerned that this wouldn't be a J/B fic, but rest assured that it is! So no worries! Now, I know a lot of you hate Alice and Edward, and rest assured that Jasper will put everyone in their place… all in good time, my dears ;)**

**I may not get to respond to all of my reviews this week, but I will be reading every one and if you have a specific question or concern I will try my best to reply. For my Retribution readers… I am a bit blocked, but I'm working on it! Love you all!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Wow! You guys are really passionate about hating Alice and Edward! Like I said, I am **_**attempting**_** to make them likeable, but if you don't then that's cool too. They will cause some drama, but no worries…. This is a Jasper/Bella pairing and that will not change, although friendships will be forged. Just have some faith, guys and gals!**

**As always, I own nothing but this plot (but I'm contemplating kidnapping the Major, anyone willing to help?)!**

**Chapter 3**

Alice and I walked in silence until finally she began to speak. I assume that she was waiting until we were out of earshot.

"I know this must be confusing for you, Bella."

"Um, that would be the understatement of the year." Was my blunt response.

"Jasper seems very protective of you," she mused.

"I suppose so. Other than Peter and Charlotte I'm his only friend. I'm pretty protective of him as well. Not that there's much I could do against vampires." She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment.

"Would you say that you would do anything for him?" I stopped walking and looked at her.

"If it was best for him, of course," I answered truthfully.

"What if I told you that by you letting him go and going with Edward that Jasper could have a real chance at a life? A life where he hunted animals and could feel good about himself. A life where he had a mate that would love him and give him everything he needed to be happy. I have seen that life for him, Bella." I nodded thoughtfully, ignoring the pain in my chest at the thought of leaving him.

"Jasper and I were supposed to meet years ago. He would be going to school among humans and he would be part of a functional and loving family who supported him. If things had happened the way they were supposed to, you and Edward would be married by now and we would be sisters. Jasper would be your brother. You and Emmett would hunt together and cause all sorts of mischief. Esme and Carlisle would be doting on both of you and we would all be happy." Alice looked wistful and if not for the pain in my chest it would have sounded lovely. But the pain was there, and it was real.

"So, if that would all happen, why would I have to let Jasper go now? We're friends. There is no reason that I would keep him from having that life."

"Because you rely on one another too much already. You would lean on one another instead of Edward and I and things would not develop as they should." Alice answered as if it were the Gospel. What I couldn't be sure of was whether or not she was telling me the whole truth. Knowing the future was a tricky thing. What was to stop her from manipulating things to her own advantage?

I voiced these concerns and Alice simply giggled.

"Bella, I am not a monster! Silly girl! If I thought Jasper would be better off without me, I would not have even come here. You have been helping him, and you've done a wonderful job… but I've seen what he _could _be. No one will force anything on you. This is all your decision. Jasper will go along with whatever you decide."

"Ha!" I barked out a laugh. "I don't have that much control. He tolerates me at best most of the time."

"You underestimate how much he cares for you, Bella. And you two would have a future together, I won't lie. But his future with me would be so much better for him. You wouldn't push him the way he needed. You couldn't help to control his urges for human blood. I could. I have loved him for years, Bella and he could love me too."

"If I just let him go would I have to go with Edward? I don't even know him." Part of me was screaming that I was insane for even considering the idea, but I wanted Jasper to be happy.

"Edward would never force you, but Bella you would be so happy together. You just need to give him a chance." She paused for a moment, deep in thought. "How about we stay here for a while? We could all get to know each other. You just have to spend more time with Edward and the family and give me time alone with Jasper." Her eyes were pleading with me to agree.

"This is Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte's home. That would be their decision. But if they agree then I will do what you ask." I could practically feel my heart breaking at the thought of staying away from Jasper, but I would do anything if it meant Jasper being happy and living in peace.

"Oh, thank you, Bella!" Alice hugged me tightly and I wished I could share her enthusiasm.

Alice practically skipped all the way back to the house and we were met on the porch by Jasper and Peter. Jasper was pacing like a caged lion and Peter was scowling me as if he knew exactly what was going on. I looked at him, pleading for him to keep quiet and he nodded his agreement but his expression told me that we would be discussing the matter later.

Jasper stopped his pacing and relief flooded his face but my emotions must have given me away. I had somewhat learned to shut my emotions off to him and I immediately locked them down and gave him a small smile. Edward stepped into the doorway and Alice nudged me. I ignored the pained expression on Jasper's face as I walked by him in Edward's direction.

"Little girl?" Jasper grasped my hand and I gave him another smile and pulled away. Edward and Alice must have been having a silent conversation about our talk because he smiled at me and offered his hand. I didn't take it, but followed him into the house.

"What the fuck did you say to her?" I heard Jasper's voice and immediately ran to the porch to see him with his hands around Alice's tiny throat.

"Jasper!" I cried.

His head snapped in my direction and the black slowly receded so that his eyes were crimson again.

"She said something to you! I know it! They're trying to take you away!" Jasper was projecting anger and panic. I ran to his side and traced his scar, willing him to calm down.

"Jasper, everything is fine. Alice just explained some things to me, and she's right. About everything. Now let her go, Jay." His grip on her tightened and he got nose to nose with her.

"What. The. Fuck. Did. You. Say. To. Her?"

"Jay, come on, let her go," I pleaded, worried that the rest of the Cullens would gang up on him.

"You can't have her! None of you!" He was completely losing control.

"Peter! Please stop him!" I screamed and he hissed at Peter as he came closer.

"Major, if you lose control you could hurt Bella. Calm down, man." Peter lowered his head and held up his hands in a show of submission.

"I want them gone! Now!" Jasper bellowed as he threw Alice to the ground.

No one moved or even made a sound, too worried that he would lose it again.

"Jasper," I whispered and he immediately had me in his arms.

"They'll leave and things will go back to normal, little girl," he cooed as he buried his nose in my hair.

"We're not leaving her here with you when you can so easily lose control," Edward spat as he made his way to Alice's side.

"I'd never hurt her! You all show up here thinking you can just swoop in and take everything away from me! I'll kill you all before I let you take her away!" His body began to shake again and before anyone could react he was carrying me bridal style and running.

When we finally stopped Jasper sat me on the ground and started pacing.

"Do you want to go with them, little girl? Do you want to leave me?" He looked so pitiful. I had no idea how to answer. Alice said she would be better for him, but maybe she was wrong. He obviously wanted nothing to do with any of them.

"I don't want to leave you, but Alice said…"

He cut me off. "Alice said what?"

"She said that she could help you and make you happy. She said that she could do things for you that I couldn't. She promised me that she could give you peace and show you another way to live." I was rambling and having a mild panic attack. It was all too much.

"Little girl, look at me." He lifted my chin so that I was staring into his crimson eyes. "No one could help me any better than you. Just tell them to leave. Things were good before, right?"

"But, Jay, what if she's right? She said that if things would have happened the way they were supposed to you guys would be in love and happy. Don't you want that?" I had to know.

"Yes," he whispered and I had my answer. I was relieved when Edward and Alice stepped through the trees. Who wouldn't want love from someone like Alice?

"Okay," I said softly before kissing his cheek and making my way to Edward. Alice walked past me and placed her hand on my shoulder before mouthing "thank you".

"Wait! That's not what I meant!" Jasper's voice quickly became muffled as Edward threw me on his back and took off. I held back the tears that threatened to fall and when we reached the house I walked directly past a worried-looking Peter and Char.

"Don't do it, Bells," Peter pleaded and I walked to my room without answering him, locking the door behind me. It wouldn't do any good if any of them really wanted to get in, but I hoped they would respect me.

I thought about packing, but remembered that I didn't have anything. It was just as well. Maybe I could go back home to my dad. I could just tell him… what? That I was kidnapped by vampires? Yeah, that wouldn't work. And I had a feeling that humans weren't allowed to just walk around knowing about the existence of vampires.

"Isabella?" Edward's voice drifted through the door.

"Just a second," I answered as I wiped the tears from my face.

I opened the door and he walked in, shutting it behind him.

"This must be confusing for you." I nodded my answer since I didn't really feel like speaking.

"I know that you care about him. He cares about you too. But it's different for him. He sees you as his life preserver, not as a lover. Alice could really help him. He could love her. She already loves him, just like I already love you." I knew that my eyes must have been the size of saucers.

"You don't even know me!" I cried.

"But I do. I've watched you for years through Alice's visions. I've seen what we would have been already if I hadn't run away like a coward. I've also seen what we still could be. You just have to let me show you."

Didn't I deserve to be loved? What sucked was that Jasper was the one I wanted to love me. But Edward was right. I've helped Jasper and he doesn't want to let go of that. Once he spent time with Alice he would just leave me anyway. I knew then just how quickly I had fallen for Jasper. I always laughed at the girls who were going on about how in love they were after a month of dating. Now I was one of them… only Jasper and I had never even kissed. I was pathetic and the sooner I could get over it, the better.

The door crashed open and Jasper barreled through, eyes blazing.

"Who do you Cullens think you are? Bella and I were talking. I had things to say!"

"Jasper," I stopped him "it's okay. We don't need to talk about it anymore. I want you to be happy, Jay. Alice can do that for you. You admitted what you want. We'll always be friends, but I need to leave so that you can bond with Alice. If you're depending on me then you'll never do that."

"What the fuck are you talking about? What the fuck did you two say to her?" He was going to lose it again and I was just too spent to deal with it.

"Jasper, you told me it's what you want! Now I am exhausted from all of this shit, so if you don't mind I am going to bed now." I pointed at the door. Edward immediately left, but Jasper stayed rooted to his spot at the end of my bed.

"Little girl, please? Just let me say what I need to say and then I'll do whatever you want." I sat on the bed, defeated and Jasper pulled me into his lap.

"Jay, I really don't want to talk anymore tonight. Can we just talk later, after I've slept?" He looked at me thoughtfully before nodding and placing me on the bed. I expected him to leave, but instead he pulled me into his side and ran his fingers through my hair.

"Sleep, little girl, it'll all be better in the morning," he murmured and kissed my forehead.

I have no idea how long I slept, but when I woke up it was still dark out and Jasper was nowhere in sight. I made my way downstairs and found Edward on the couch, reading a book.

"Good morning, Bella," he smiled and I gave him a small smile in return, pleased that he wasn't calling me Isabella anymore.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, looking around.

"Alice took Jasper hunting. She thought it would be good for him to see what our lifestyle is all about." I nodded, knowing that it was starting; the beginning of the end for my life with Jasper.

"I'm just going to make some coffee." I pointed in the direction of the kitchen and Edward smiled warmly at me.

Once my coffee was done I took my cup and walked to the porch, sitting on my favorite bench and staring out into space. I had a lot to think about and I needed to get on with whatever decision I was going to make. I knew that it would be best for Jasper if I left him with Alice. She was already teaching him how to be better by doing something that I couldn't. Even if I was turned to become a vampire, from what I had been told of newborns, there was no way that I could help him if I was constantly thirsting for human blood myself.

I looked up to see Alice and Jasper emerging from over the hill. Jasper was laughing at something Alice was saying. He looked free from the turmoil that usually came with him feeding. My decision was made. He would be better off without me. I just had to figure out how to get away without allowing him to talk me out of it. Alice was right. Jasper and I were very dependent on one another and he would be reluctant to let go of that connection.

Jasper saw me and in a flash he was at my side.

"How was the hunt?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, the flavor wasn't great, but I was able to eat without being bogged down by emotions. It was pretty great, little girl." He was actually smiling, showing no signs of tension at all.

"That's great, Jay." I patted his leg and got up from the bench, making sure to keep my emotions hidden.

Alice stopped on the porch, grinning like a mad woman. I knew that she had seen my decision and was thrilled. She squeezed my shoulder reassuringly and began talking to Jasper animatedly. I knew that she was trying to distract him, and I was thankful.

"Bella," Peter caught me by the arm.

"What's up, Pete?" I asked, attempting to sound happier than I felt.

"Let's go for a walk, B." His tone told me that it was not open for discussion.

Peter must have been in a hurry because I was slung onto his back and before long we were miles away from the house.

"Who lit a fire under your ass today, Pete?" My attempt at a joke went unnoticed.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Isabella?" Peter was angry. Peter was never angry.

"I am giving Jasper the chance at a real life. That's what the fuck I'm doing. Did you see how happy he was to be able to feed without all the usual feelings that come with it? I can't help him with that!"

"Have you ever thought that maybe the little pixie is wrong? I don't think she's sharing everything with you about the possible future outcomes. Sure, he would change his diet with her, but he wouldn't be happy. You can't be happy away from your mate, Bella."

"Well, then it's a good thing Alice is his mate," I spat, tired of his attitude. I was trying to do the right thing and he was making it more difficult.

"She's not! What the hell is with you people? She knows she's not his mate! If she was, he never would have been able to lay a harmful finger on her! Jasper already has a mate!" I looked at him, shocked. What the hell was he talking about?

"Don't be stupid, Bella! I'm talking about you! I knew it from the moment he didn't kill you on that sidewalk. Char and I were waiting for you two to figure it out on your own, but there's no time for that now!" Peter tugged at his hair in frustration, something I had never seen him do.

"Peter, I know that you don't want me to leave, but I'll be back. I'm just going away long enough to give Alice and Jasper some time. You don't have to concoct some crazy story." I smiled at him, knowing that I would miss him too.

"Since when are you this stupid, Bella? Have the Cullens fried your brain or something?"

"Peter, please just stop! I already feel like I'm being pulled in ten different directions! I have to do this for him, so just drop it!" I hit my knees and fell into a fit of sobs.

Edward was instantly in front of me and I didn't even question how he knew where we were. I knew that Alice had seen what happened and told him.

"Can we leave now?" I asked him through sobs.

"Anything you want, Bella," he smiled gently at me.

"Peter, can you tell him…" Peter cut me off.

"If you're leaving you can tell him your damn self!" Peter's red eyes were blazing and I simply nodded. There would be no goodbye to Jasper. He wouldn't let me leave and I couldn't bear to say it anyway.

"Do you need to get anything before we go?" Edward whispered.

"No. Nothing there belongs to me." And nothing did.

"Okay, Bella. Any idea where you would like to go?"

"Um, somewhere by the water. I know that you can't go out in the sun, but the only time I've been near the ocean was in Forks, and it wasn't exactly what I had in mind." I made a sad attempt at a smile.

"I know just the place, but we better go. Peter will be home any time now and Jasper will be looking for you soon. Are you sure you want to do this, Bella?" Even though it would have pained Edward, he would have taken me back to Jasper. Maybe I could be happy too… eventually.

"Let's go then."

I ignored the pain in my chest as Edward and I got farther and farther from Jasper, determined to let him have the life he deserved.

***peeks out from behind laptop* Now before you all go on a rampage, I warned you that there would be some drama. Bella is pulling her self-sacrificing crap, I know, but I am trying to stay in canon as much as possible (minus the Major, of course) and the Bella in the books was the same way. Just hang in there, guys! For all the Alice haters… the next two chapters should be highly enjoyable for you ;)**

**I want to give a shout out to Nostalgicmiss who talked me into this madness in the first place and has held my hand the entire way. She is the best! If you guys haven't checked out her stuff then shame on you! Go and do it now!**

**And a special thanks to MissRainLover for her rec in Untouchable! It is such a fun story! The Major is all sorts of bossy and crazy!**


	5. Chapter 4

**You guys have blown me away! I can't believe how passionate you guys are about this! I love it! Now, here is the chapter that all the Alice haters have been waiting for! I won't delay you with anymore chatter… Enjoy!**

**Oh, and I don't own Twilight or its characters!**

**Chapter 4**

**Jasper POV**

Peter tore through the house like a mad man. His emotions were all over the place and I began to worry that he had done something to my little girl. Where was she, anyway?

"Pete? What the hell, man? Where's Bella?" I was hit with a wave of sadness from him and my worry increased.

"Where is she?" I spoke through clenched teeth. I knew deep down that he would never hurt her, but I wasn't willing to think of the alternative. She wouldn't leave me.

"Why don't you ask your _mate_," Peter spat, glaring at Alice.

"Mate? Alice isn't… Fuck!" I knew then that Bella believed all the bull shit the pixie and her family had been spouting.

"Someone better tell me where the fuck Bella is before I lose my cool!" I looked around the room full of vampires, none of who were talking.

"She's gone, Major." Peter spat, still glaring at Alice.

"No," was all I said. My little girl wouldn't just take off like that. That pussy Edward had taken her against her will. I just knew it.

The growl rose from deep within my chest as I ran out of the house, following Bella's scent. When it mingled with Edward's I roared and picked up my pace, pushing my body to its limit. I ran until the scent just stopped and I knew that they had gotten into a vehicle. The prick must have planned this.

"Major, the sun is out and there are humans around. You have to come home now." Peter pulled me into the shadow of a building. I wasn't even capable of rational thought. My chest was on fire from the pressure I felt there. I tried to rub it away, but deep down I knew that the only way to relieve it was to have Bella back with me. Right then I knew what Peter meant when he said I would figure out her importance on my own. My little girl was my mate and she was gone. I would kill them all if they didn't bring her back to me.

I was the God of War, and no one stole what was mine. They had no idea who they were fucking with, but I was going to show them. And I was going to start with that little pixie.

"Major, Bella left of her own free will. They didn't steal her from you." Had I spoken that all out loud?

"They stole her, Peter. Maybe she left on her own, but they made her feel like she had to. If I have to tear every one of them apart, I will get her back."

Peter nodded at me. I was the God of War. I was Ares. The Major was in charge now and there was no caging him back up. Only Bella was capable of doing that, and until she was back in my arms, anyone who kept her from me would pay with their life.

**BPOV**

Edward and I had been on Isle Esme for three weeks. It was beautiful and exactly what I needed. It didn't make me miss Jasper any less, but the sound of the waves against the shore soothed the gaping hole in my chest. Edward tried so hard to make me happy. The house was stocked with all my favorite things and he would spend hours exploring the island with me.

The story behind the island was beautiful, and I envied Esme for having someone love her so much. Bless Edward… he wanted me to love him so badly. I wished I could on a daily basis. I had come to care for him. How could I not? He was kind and gave in to my every whim. I couldn't help but feeling that there was something going on, though. Edward had been getting phone calls since we arrived, but they were becoming more and more frequent. He was on one such call when I happened upon him on the patio.

"I'm not telling you anything, Carlisle. She doesn't want to be found, and I am not betraying her! She's just now starting to get better. Alice started this whole thing to begin with!" Edward paused, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I wanted to leave it alone!" Pause "No, of course I'm glad I didn't now, but Alice needs to take some responsibility! I know she meant well and that she has loved him for years, but she knew that she couldn't see any further than a few days in the future once Bella started living with them!" Pause "He did what?"

I couldn't stay hidden anymore. Edward was obviously freaking out.

"Edward?" I peeked around the corner and he tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"I need to go, Carlisle. I'll call you later." With that he hung up the phone.

"Is everything all right?" I asked, to which Edward sighed.

"I don't know how to answer that, Bella." He was tugging at his hair.

I took his hand and pulled, indicating for him to follow me. Edward had become a good friend, and I felt bad for whatever was making him so stressed. I led us to the couch and sat down, waiting for him to speak.

"Jasper ripped Alice apart, Bella. He hid her body parts and kept her head."

"What? Jasper killed Alice?" I couldn't believe that Jasper would do something like that.

"No, she's not dead, but it's not comfortable for her. He would have to burn her in order for her to die."

"So, what happened?" I had to know what they had done to push Jasper over the edge.

"Um, well, when you first left, he wasn't happy, but he seemed to be doing better. He didn't talk much, but he never really has with us, you know?" Edward took a deep breath. "Then about a week or so after we left, he suggested that he and Alice go away together. She thought that he was coming around. He came back yesterday with only Alice's head, demanding to know where you are."

I almost passed out at the thought of Jasper doing such a thing. My breaths were coming in short gasps and Edward rubbed my back in an attempt to soothe me.

"You see, ever since you started living with Jasper, Alice has only been able to see a few days into the future, and those visions are rare and sporadic at best. She assumed that things would still work out the way they should from the previous visions she had. Jasper thinks that we conned you into leaving him and is on the warpath. He doesn't believe that we weren't trying to manipulate either of you. Alice really did see all those things, Bella. I swear! We wouldn't lie about that!"

"I believe you, Edward. I know that you were both trying to find happiness. Forever is a long time to be alone." He nodded and I squeezed his hand.

"She really loves him and thought she could help him. She wanted to, but since her visions had become so sketchy she couldn't see how things would play out in the long run since he found you. She was living by blind faith that he would love her and that you would love me. We both were." He looked out the window and I immediately felt for both him and Alice.

"So now what happens?" I asked.

"Bella, Jasper is very dangerous right now. Carlisle said that he hasn't fed since he took off with Alice and is threatening to tear my whole family apart one by one until you come home. But I don't think I can risk you like that. In this state he could really harm you." I could see Edward's concern for me written plainly on his face, but I couldn't let Jasper harm the Cullens.

"Why don't they just tell him where we are? He could have time to calm down and I could reason with him."

"They don't know where we are, Bella. I didn't tell them, and since Jasper has gone of his rocker, Alice isn't getting any visions at all. I just don't know what to do."

I thought for a moment. "Edward, give me your phone." He looked at me curiously, but placed it in my hand. I scrolled through his contacts until I came upon Alice's name and hit send. I knew that Jasper would have her phone, just waiting for Edward to contact her.

"Well, hello there Pretty boy! Calling to beg for your _sister's_ pathetic life?" Jasper sounded nothing like the man I knew. I won't lie when I say he terrified me in that moment.

"Jasper?" His name came out as a question because I almost wasn't sure it was really him.

"Little girl?" I heard him release a heavy breath and I was thrilled to hear that his voice had softened slightly.

"Jasper, Edward said you took Alice apart. Why would you do something like that?" My voice was barely a whisper but I knew he could hear me.

"I told them I would kill them before they took you from me. She's not dead yet, so I am actually being generous. I'll put her back together when you're back home where you belong." Jasper sounded cold and detached.

"I left, Jasper! Me! They didn't force me to do anything! I wanted you to be better!" I was sobbing and Edward made an attempt at soothing me.

"Pretty boy better take his hands off of you if he wants the pixie to live." I don't know how Jasper knew that Edward was touching me, but Edward hissed in response. I could hear Alice sobbing in the background and Jasper yelled at her to shut up.

"Jasper!" I cried, hoping to cut through this thick layer of hate he was surrounding himself with.

"Little girl, just tell me where you are and I'll put her back together. I'll come get you and things will go back to normal. You belong with me and they knew it!"

"No, I didn't! I thought I was your mate! I swear!" Alice screamed hysterically.

"She did, Bella," Edward looked confused, "I saw it myself."

"You were mine from the moment you were born, little girl. I don't know what they think they saw, but you belong to me, just as I belong to you." I couldn't wrap my mind around what Jasper was telling me. Hell, I couldn't even associate the Jasper I knew with the person I was on the phone with.

"None of this makes any sense, Jasper. And to be honest, you're scaring the shit out of me right now!"

"Just come home to me and everything will be fine. I don't mean to scare you, but you need to know that when a vampire finds their mate they don't take too kindly to having them taken away." I could hear growls coming through the phone and then a struggle. I looked at Edward, hoping that his sensitive ears could hear more than mine and he would know what was happening.

"It seems that Emmett and Carlisle have overpowered Jasper. Rose is taking Alice's head and going to find the rest of her body." Edward answered my unspoken question, looking relieved.

"What are they going to do with him?" I was suddenly worried for Jasper.

"Bella, sweetheart, you have to come home." Charlotte had picked up the phone.

"Char, don't let them hurt him! I'll come home!" I heard her breathe a sigh of relief and relay the information.

I heard arguing before Peter's voice came through the phone.

"Bella, you need to be prepared. Jasper is feral. He wouldn't hurt you intentionally, but I worry about how he will react when he first sees you. You would be dealing with the Major here, in a way that you've never seen him. As much as I hate to say this… maybe you should stay away. I don't know if he will be able to control himself." I could almost hear the battle going on in Peter's mind. My safety versus Jasper's.

"Just tell me what to do to help him, Pete." Edward was shaking his head no, but I knew that I couldn't let Jasper go on that way. I didn't even know if Jasper and I were really supposed to be together or if he was fighting fate and angry because something was taken from him. Either way, I knew I would have to go back to him.

"Edward, I have to. I don't want anyone else harmed, and neither do you. I just need to talk him down. Then we can all sit down and talk about this rationally. There has to be an explanation." Edward sighed, but nodded his acceptance.

Before nightfall we had landed in Phoenix and were speeding down the highway to try and fix our families.

"Where is he?" I asked Peter as soon as I stepped out of the car.

"B, they had to remove his arms so that he would be easier to control. I told him you were on your way, but he hasn't calmed down. The Major has always walked a fine line between sane and crazy, but this is over the top. He's dangerous right now, even to you." I nodded my head and made my way into the house.

Furniture had been destroyed and my eyes fell to Emmett, who had both his arms and legs wrapped around Jasper in order to restrain him. Carlisle was holding, what looked to be Jasper's arms, which were flailing. Alice sat on what was left of the couch, whimpering while Esme rocked her back and forth. Poor Char looked close to tears (or she would be if she could produce them) as she stroked Jasper's hair. In short, everything was a mess.

"See, Major, she's here. I told you she was coming," Charlotte cooed.

Jasper truly looked wild. His eyes were pitch black and his nostrils flared.

Edward made his way to my side and placed his hand on my back. Apparently I was hyperventilating and he was trying to calm me down. Jasper let out a low growl and Peter gently pulled Edward away.

"I wouldn't go near her just now, Edward," Peter warned and Edward nodded.

Jasper's onyx eyes were locked on my own and although I knew he needed me, I was terrified to approach him.

"Jay? I want to come over there, but you have to calm down. You could hurt me so easily." My voice shook as I spoke. He never said a word, just continued to stare at me, so I slowly made my way closer to him.

"Careful, B," Peter warned as I leaned in to touch Jasper's scar.

"You smell like _him_," Jasper growled and I flinched.

"You can't mark her! She's human!" Edward pushed me out of the way, but must have underestimated his strength because I flew through the large bay window. The pain didn't register and my last conscious thought was that I was bleeding and surrounded by a house full of vampires.

"Bella? Can you hear me?" I opened my eyes and immediately squinted at the harsh light. Carlisle was leaning over me, trying to get me to focus on his face.

"Yeah. How long was I out? Where's Jasper?" I tried to sit up, but was too sore to move properly.

"Jasper is much the same as he was before, just a little more angry because we force fed him and refuse to let him in to see you." I nodded in understanding.

"Is Edward all right? I know he was just trying to protect me. I'm not exactly sure why, but I know he wouldn't hurt me on purpose."

"Edward is fine. He only left a few minutes ago to hunt. It's the first time he's left your side since you passed out three days ago."

"Three days? I've been out for three days?" I looked down to assess my injuries. Damn, I looked bad.

"Two broken ribs, a sprained ankle, a broken wrist, a concussion, and you nicked an artery. We had to give you a blood transfusion. You're going to be okay, though. You will just need lots of rest." It wasn't my first rodeo when it came to accidents as I was prone to them, but I was relieved that the injuries weren't more serious.

"Um, Carlisle?" I glanced at him, blushing.

"Yes, Bella?" He smiled kindly.

"What did Edward mean when he yelled at Jasper about marking me?"

"Oh… well, um… Vampires as a species are possessive. It is in our nature to want to claim what we see as ours. Usually it happens in a more intimate setting, but we tend to bite in order to inject our venom into our mate. It leaves a trace of our scent to warn off other vampires. But with you being human it is very likely that Jasper would have either drained you in his current state. Or you would have turned."

"Okay, so Jasper wanted to 'mark' me? But why?"

"You carried Edward's scent and it set him off. He is convinced that you are his mate and to a vampire, their mate carrying the scent of another is almost like betrayal. He wanted to cover Edward's scent with his own… in a more personal way." I could tell that Carlisle was uncomfortable with the conversation but I needed to know.

"So Jasper hasn't calmed down at all?"

"He's a little better since Edward left the house, but he's threatening us all with life and limb if we don't allow him to see you. Rosalie keeps threatening to decapitate him." Carlisle chuckled darkly and I attempted to smile at him.

"If he's not going to calm down until he sees me, then maybe you should give him what he wants. How much can he do with no arms?"

"You might be surprised, Bella, but if you want to see him I can have Emmett and Peter bring him in." I nodded. I was terrified of seeing his eyes black and his face contorted in anger, but he wasn't going to calm down until he was with me.

Carlisle didn't even have a chance to leave my bed side before the door was kicked open. Jasper was still being held by Emmett and Peter, but he had somehow dragged them.

"Let me go! I'm not going to fucking hurt her you idiots!" Jasper struggled against them. He looked strange without his arms and I wanted them to give them back. Seeing him struggle was causing me physical pain as if his pain was mine.

"Please, just let him go!" I cried.

Emmett looked to Peter who nodded after a moment of watching Jasper. I blinked and Jasper was immediately on the bed next to me, running his nose along my neck.

"Shhh…" I cooed while running my good hand through his hair.

"Jasper, you have to calm yourself down. You can't hold me with no arms, and they won't give them back until you stop trying to kill everyone." My attempt at a joke fell flat, but he nodded anyway.

"I won't try to kill anyone if they leave us alone. And I want them to stop fucking touching you, little girl," Jasper hissed when he tried to maneuver himself closer to me.

"If I get them to give your arms back do you promise to behave?" I asked.

"Yes," he grumbled, sounding like a petulant child.

"And you have to be gentle with me. I'm still a fragile human, so no biting," I teased and felt him smile against my skin.

"No biting," he replied.

"And Carlisle has to be able to touch me as he is my doctor. Oh, and I will need help showering and stuff for a while."

"He is NOT showering you!" Jasper growled and I giggled at how my words must have sounded.

"NO! I meant Charlotte or Esme would help me with that!" My face grew hot with my blush.

"I suppose," he agreed and I looked to Peter.

"Go and get his arms, Emmett," Peter ordered. Emmett thought about it for a moment before smiling and disappearing.

"Major, you know that you'll need to hunt in order for the fuse to work properly. Char or I will stay with Bella while you go, and no one will touch her." Peter spoke as if he was afraid of a bad reaction. Jasper seemed in perfect control to me so I didn't understand.

"You can bring me blood. I won't leave." Jasper ordered.

"I don't think that is wise. Your blood lust could take over and Bella could be harmed." Carlisle interjected and Jasper growled loudly.

"He'll be fine. Just bring the blood here. I need to go to the bathroom anyway to clean up. Peter, can you call Charlotte?"

"I'm right here, sweets!" Char peeked around the corner and entered the room all smiles.

"Jay, I need to get cleaned up and you need to let them help you, okay?" He didn't answer and growled when Charlotte took a step closer to the bed.

"Jasper, I am human and I neeeeed to go to the bathroom. Please don't be difficult." I wasn't above pleading. I just knew I couldn't be in the room when there was blood present.

"One condition," he whispered.

"What's that?" I asked, suddenly nervous.

"Kiss me, little girl." When I didn't answer (mostly because I was in shock and more than likely wasn't even capable of speech) he went on. "I need to know that you're mine. I need everyone here to know that as well."

Emmett appeared with his arms and Peter took them from him, slowly making his way to the bed.

"Major, I'm going to put your arms on and seal them." Jasper nodded and Peter rolled him onto his back.

Watching Peter place Jasper's arms in their natural spot and then licking the torn flesh was a strange thing to witness. Jasper never took his eyes off of me and I kept my hand in his hair. Once his arms were on Jasper wrapped them around me and pulled me in close, all the while being mindful of his strength and my injuries. He winced and I knew that he would be in pain until he fed, but I also knew he wouldn't let go until he got what he wanted.

Jasper looked into my eyes for a moment, searching for something. He must have found it because he gently lowered himself so that his lips were pressed gently against my own. I gasped as my body felt like it was on fire and Jasper took that as a sign to sweep his tongue into my mouth. He tasted so good, and I found myself becoming dizzy. I then realized that he had kissed me breathless. I pulled away to take big, gulping breaths, but kept my eyes on his, not wanting to lose the connection.

"Bella, I believe you needed the bathroom?" Charlotte giggled and I noticed that Emmett and Peter were chuckling as well.

"Uh-huh," was my articulate response.

"Come on, Sugar, let's get you cleaned up." She leaned down to touch my arm and Jasper had his body caged around mine protectively while snarling and snapping at Charlotte.

"Jasper!" I scolded. "We talked about this!" He growled but had the decency to look slightly apologetic.

"I can help you," he spoke, still keeping his body locked firmly around mine.

"Jasper Whitlock! If you think you are getting me naked right now, you've lost your damn mind! Now you behave yourself or I'll let them take more than your arms off next time!" Not that all the possessive stuff wasn't sexy, but damn I needed to piss.

The jackass actually burst into laughter, followed immediately after every vampire in the room.

"What?" I snarled.

"You'll let us?" Emmett guffawed. "I like her!"

"Oh, I get it… because you're all super strong and shit… ha ha. You're all assholes! Now if someone doesn't let me piss I swear I'm going to do it right here!" That seemed to make them laugh harder.

"Charlotte, a little help, please?" Jasper abruptly stopped laughing when she reached for me and I slapped the back of his head.

"Shit! Now I don't have any good hands! Son of a bitch!" I heard a thud and looked up to see Emmett on the floor, rolling around like a damn idiot.

Jasper ignored them all, instead choosing to sit up and cradle my hand.

"I'm sorry, little girl." He kissed my knuckled, but I had no patience.

"Look, if you let me go piss and take a shower you can spend all the time you want like this, but if not I swear to crack that I will leave until you can learn to control yourself!" I was literally doing the pee-pee dance where I was sitting. Jasper nodded for Char to take me, but I could see the tension in his body. Too bad I could have cared less.

I am not ashamed to say that I moaned out loud when I relieved myself because that asshole made me hold it for entirely too long.

"Things will be so much easier when you're a vampire," Charlotte mused.

"Crazy vampire, say what?" I asked from my position on the toilet.

'Uh-oh. I said that out loud, didn't I?" I just nodded and looked at her like she had lost her damn mind. I didn't want to be a vampire… did I?

**Sooo… are my Alice haters pleased? Bella is still sort of being an idiot, but this is progress, right? So, don't forget to let me know what you think! Now I am going to tend to my little one and get some housework done!**

**Big thanks again to Nostalgicmiss for just being wonderful self!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters. I do, however own this particular idea, so please don't steal it!**

**Thanks to all those who reviewed, added, and favorite this story! I apologize if I was unable to respond, but I read and appreciate each one. Hopefully it will be a bit better since we finally have a tooth! Too bad three more are coming in! Bear with me, people!**

**Big thanks to Nostalgicmiss for being my cheerleader! She breaks out the pom poms when necessary and made me 2 awesome banners for this story. Now I just need to figure out how to post them! LOL!**

**Chapter 5**

"Shit," Charlotte cursed under her breath.

"My thoughts exactly." I stared at her as I sat on the toilet like a fool.

"Um, can we talk about this later when there isn't a very volatile vampire waiting at the door?" She looked a little nervous as she watched the door, as if she was waiting for Jasper to burst through at any moment.

"Jasper, go eat!" I hollered and heard a groan followed by a few chuckles coming from the bedroom. I couldn't deal with his possessive ass and my own clusterfuck of emotions at the same time.

"Well, at least he's gonna' eat. Now, let's get you cleaned up so he can rub himself all over ya'." I rolled my eyes and Charlotte got the water started in the shower before covering my cast with the plastic wrap I was oh-so-fond-of. Like I said, not my first rodeo.

The shower was over far too quickly for my liking as I was being faced with a room full of vampires, all looking at me like I held the meaning of life in my fragile human brain. I blushed as Edward offered to help Charlotte get me to the bed. I saw Peter wince and shake his head, but it was too late. Jasper had him pinned to the ground, his mouth to his throat.

"Will you PLEASE stop trying to kill people for like five minutes?" I was losing my patience with the whole ordeal.

"Bella, stay back," Edward warned, but I wasn't deterred. I was hungry, confused, and cranky as hell. Not to mention my pain meds had worn off. I grabbed a magazine from the nightstand, rolled it up, and popped Jasper on the back of his hard head.

Emmett and Peter chuckled, but the rest of the room remained silent, waiting to see what Jasper would do.

"Did you just hit me with a rolled up magazine?" Jasper lifted his head and looked at me incredulously.

"Well, if you're going to act like a damn dog, growling and going around biting people, I'm going to treat you like one! Bad Jasper!"

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" Charlotte asked as she giggled profusely.

"I love you too, but if I don't get some peace and damn quiet you are all going to be sorry." I crossed my arms over my chest and made a lame attempt at growling at them.

"I take back everything I ever said about staying away from her! The little human has balls. I like her." It was the first time the Amazon goddess, otherwise known as Rosalie Hale, had spoken in my presence and I was rendered speechless. Emmett just slung a gigantic arm around her shoulders and kissed her head indulgently.

"You're all giving me a headache," I mumbled.

"Come on, little girl. Lay down and Char will get you some food." I would have argued with him for being so bossy but I was too exhausted. How that was possible after sleeping for three days, I'll never know.

Jasper laid me down and settled himself next to me so that we were touching. I knew he could feel my emotions bouncing all over the place as I was far too tired to make an attempt at masking them. He didn't seem to care that everyone was staring at us. Edward and Alice stood huddled together, both with looks of deep sorrow on their perfect faces. I knew that they had to be hurting and I hated it. For years Alice had loved Jasper and Edward had loved me. They had seen scenarios of all of us as a family; of touches between lovers and hugs between siblings.

Little Alice's eyes connected with mine and I shot her an apologetic glance. I wanted to speak with her alone, but seriously doubted that Jasper would even allow it.

"Jasper, we need to talk about what happened while I was gone." Alice sucked in a ragged breath and Edward put a comforting arm around her.

"Guys, why don't you go for a hunt or something? Peter and Char can stick around to make sure things are okay here." Edward nodded, knowing that this needed to be done and led the rest of them out of the room.

"Finally alone." Jasper pulled me close and began trailing kisses down my neck.

"Hold up, cowboy!" I tugged at his hair, indicating that I wanted him to look at me.

"What?" He pouted. Major Jasper fucking Whitlock pouted! When did this sort of behavior start? I shook my head to clear the image of those sexy lips from my mind so I could get back to the subject at hand.

"What the hell were you thinking tearing Alice apart like that? You can't go all psycho any time someone does something you don't like, Jasper."

"Something I don't like? Little girl, they came in here and took what was MINE! With all their pretty talk about supposed possible futures they made you believe that you weren't for me. They took you as sure as if they forced you." Jasper's tone was harsh, but the way he softly stroked my skin told me that he wouldn't hurt me.

"What if I'm not yours? What if Alice is right and we've just grown dependent on one another?" Jasper looked up at me like I had just asked him for the cure for cancer.

"It's not possible. Yes, I am dependent on you, but not in the way you think. My happiness depends on your happiness. My well-being depends on your well-being. You get the point. When we find our mate, everything becomes dependent on them. So yes, she is correct that I depend on you, but I think she has only allowed herself to look at the parts of her visions that she wants to see."

"I don't think she meant to be malicious." I assured him.

"Neither do I. She loves me… she is sincere about that. Just as Edward is sincere in his love for you, but none of it matters. You and I were put on this earth to be together and I have waited over a hundred and fifty years for you. I have lived through hell, and for the first time since I was brought into this life I feel like more than a killer. I feel like a man again. You do that for me. Not Alice." He gently kissed me and I felt myself forgetting why we were supposed to talk in the first place.

"No, wait…" my voice was muffled by his lips. He rolled his eyes, but pulled away.

"And what do you feel, Jasper? You barely even tolerated me half the time before they got here. How could you not know we were mates before and then the Cullens show up with options for both of us and 'poof' we're mates. It doesn't make sense." It was something that had confused the shit out of me ever since the whole mate thing came up with Jasper and me.

"I've cared about you since you came here. It's part of the reason why I was so difficult. I have lived my life feeling the emotions of others, but never truly dealing with my own. I had to push you away in order to keep myself sane." He looked to be deep in thought for a moment. "You see, as vampires, we try to retain as much of our humanity as possible, but there is this monster inside always begging just to be unleashed. I was always afraid that if I let out my own emotions it would give the monster too much control, but when he felt a threat to his other half, which is you by the way, there wasn't anything that could be done to stop him. I know I'm not explaining this right."

I cut off his speech by throwing myself at him, ignoring the pain my body was feeling, instead focusing on the love I felt for him. I kissed him with all the passion I could muster from my limited experience, and pushed that feeling of love at him. When I finally pulled away for breath he looked at me with wide eyes.

"Is that… is that what you feel for me?" He asked, looking unusually shy.

I decided to put on my big girl panties and be honest. "Yes."

"Holy shit, little girl."

Then we were a tangle of limbs and lips. Jasper was very careful to avoid any damaged body parts and his touches were all light as a feather, but my body shook from the intensity of it all. I don't know how long we went on that way, but eventually there was a light knock at the door and Jasper lifted his head. Someone must have been asking a question because he growled and answered with an "okay".

"Char says that your food is going to get cold if I don't stop trying to get you to touch my baby-maker. Her words, not mine." I giggled and turned three shades of red when Char and Peter walked in the door, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. Peter was making noises that sounded like music you'd hear in a cheap porno. Hey, I said I was a virgin, not a prude.

"Here's your food, General." Charlotte winked at me and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"General? How the fuck do you figure that?" Jasper asked with a smirk.

"Well, she bosses _you_ around, Major, and she seems to have all the power around here." I'm sure I turned a lovely shade of beetroot as Jasper guffawed loudly.

"You're all insane! And please tell me you didn't cook this Char." She placed her hand over her heart, feigning hurt.

"Well, Esme made it earlier; I just had to put in in the oven to bake for thirty minutes." I felt slightly better about that since I had witnessed Charlotte's cooking skills first hand.

I had gotten used to having vampires watch me eat. For some reason it fascinated them. There were times I was tempted to open my mouth and show them my chewed food, but I hadn't reached that level yet. When I finished eating I knew that Jasper would want to pick up right where we left off, but we had much more to discuss. Thankfully, the Yoda that he is, Peter knew this and dragged Charlotte out of the room.

"Jay, I think the Cullens should stay here for a bit." I cringed and waited for the reaction that I knew was coming.

"No." His answer was short and he left no room for argument. Or so he thought.

"Just listen. I know that you're pissed as hell at them, but it's really not they're fault. You've said yourself that you can feel their sincerity, and you felt so much better hunting animals rather than humans. They could help you with that. Plus, I think that after what you did to Alice you owe it to her to let her see that the man she has loved for years is not a savage. You need this, Jasper, and so does she. It's been years for her Jasper. Years of not looking for anyone else, because she thought it was supposed to be you. I'm still not positive that it wasn't and I don't want you to get rid of her and keep me then realize later that you made a mistake."

He went to speak but I held up my hand to stop him. "If you ever want me to really believe in this whole mate thing, then I need to know for sure. There was obviously a reason that she spent years having visions of you, and before we can move on together we need to know why."

"And what about her visions of you and Pretty Boy?" Jasper snarled.

"I don't know. What I do know is that her visions of he and I began after he met me. It could have been a direct result of me being his singer, whatever that means. But her first vision when she awoke to this life was of you and her together. I need to know why, Jay. I'll never feel secure in this until I do."

"If I agree to this… and that's a big if… they are not to pressure us or push us into anything. We will seek them out when we want to, not the other way around."

"Um, Jay? If that were the case you would never seek any of them out. But I will agree that they can't push her past visions at us. This is purely about getting to know one another and figuring out the why of the visions, not rehashing the would-have-been of them."

"Agreed, but I don't like it. I'm making you fully aware of that right now, little girl." I kissed his cheek loudly and he took that as an invitation.

"Not done talking yet, Jay." He mumbled something too low for me to hear and I giggled at his impatience.

"Now, what's this about me becoming a vampire?"

"Well, what's the point in you staying human? You can never go back to your old life anyway. You would endanger everyone you came in contact with. The number one rule of being a vampire is to keep the secret. To not do so carries the punishment of death; for the vampire and the human."

I thought carefully about what he said, and logically I knew that he was right, but part of me held out hope for seeing my father again. Plus, I hated blood… the look, the smell, just everything about it. How in the hell could I drink it. And Jasper basically said that newborns are crazy, unstable creatures. Ugh! Not to mention the fact that I still wasn't all that sure that Jasper and Alice weren't supposed to be together. I didn't want to risk living an eternity on my own.

"Little girl, your emotions are all over the place. What's going through that head of yours?" I didn't want to get into yet another discussion on how we were "meant for one another" because it just depressed me. I couldn't believe it yet. Not until I had more proof.

"Just thinking about never seeing my dad again. I miss him." Jasper looked at me like he knew I was lying but let it slide.

"You know that you can tell me anything, right?" He asked and I nodded but kept silent.

We sat together talking about his life, human and vampire, until we heard voices filtering through the house.

"Jasper, I would like to talk to Alice. You need to hunt again anyway. I don't think you got enough to be back to your old self." I saw a flicker of the Major in his face, but furrowed my brow at him to let him know I meant business.

"You better be here when I get back," He growled before kissing me possessively.

"I will," I breathed.

There was a hesitant knock at the door and I knew it was Alice.

"Come in," I called and she opened the door slowly. Jasper growled and I picked up the magazine again, popping him with it.

"Would you stop hitting me?" He grinned at me.

"Will you stop acting like a dog?" I retorted.

"Fine, but I don't like this. And no more trying to convince her to leave me," he snarled at Alice and I raised the magazine again.

"Okay, okay, I'm going, your highness." With another quick kiss and a growl in Alice's direction he jumped out the window and was gone.

"Alice, are you all right?" I asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"I… I think so. I'm still a little shaken up, and a lot confused, but I'll be okay. How are you? Edward feels horrible." I took notice of how she fidgeted. A very human thing to do.

"I don't blame Edward. He was only trying to protect me. But it's you that I'm worried about. I am so sorry that he did that to you." I reached out to touch her hand and she recoiled slightly.

"Sorry, I'm a little jumpy," she apologized.

"No worries, Alice."

"Bella, I've never been so terrified. I mean, I know who and what he is. I've seen it all through my visions, but I never expected him to be that way. You have to know, that I saw a future for the two of you. I've seen you as a vampire… but Bella, his eyes were still red. He was feral, and while I don't know what caused it, I just knew that I didn't see that future for him with me. It was all golden eyes and peace."

I thought about what she said, and had to wonder what would bring that sort of future for us.

"Was there any good visions of us in the future?" I asked tentatively.

"Oh yes! Don't think that just because of that vision that there weren't others! That one just stood out for obvious reasons. There are many visions of you two happy. He loves you very much, Bella. You have to know that. But I had to try." The last sentence was barely a whisper.

"I know, Alice. Look, I have told him that I think we should all spend time getting to know one another. I'm still not positive that he shouldn't be with you, and I can't fully allow myself to be with him until I know for sure. He wants me to be changed, and I just can't risk eternity alone."

She nodded. "And what about Edward?" She asked.

"I have told Jasper that he and I will be getting to know one another as well. I will be spending time with all of you. As will Jasper. Edward should know that I have no romantic feelings toward him, but I would very much like to be his friend." She nodded then seemed to be listening for something.

"He says that he'll take what he can get. We're all just so thankful that you were able to talk Jasper down. I've seen Jasper, Peter, and Emmett being very close. Emmett's fun nature could be good for him." Alice smiled wistfully.

"I think so too. I have a feeling that Emmett and Peter together could spell trouble. Thankfully they have women who are fully capable of reining them in." Alice and I both giggled.

"Speaking of… the women are requesting an audience with the General." I rolled my eyes at Charlotte's nickname for me. Now it seemed that everyone would be referring to me that way.

"Sure, sure." I barely had the words out of my mouth before I was bombarded by overly excited female vampires on a mission. Apparently I was looking worse for wear and was in need of some pampering. I was primped and prodded, tweezed and plucked until I thought I would lose it. The end result was shiny hair, glossy lips, and painted nails. I really didn't want the nails, but Rosalie insisted and she was the only vampire in the house that scared me. She always had… even in school before I knew what she was.

"Um, I think you ladies need to wrap it up," Peter stuck his head in the door, "he's getting impatient out here and if I have to watch him and Edward continue with this pissing contest for another second I cannot be held responsible for my actions."

I sighed and rolled my eyes, knowing that Jasper had had enough of being kept away. As much as I hated the makeover stuff, it was nice to just act normal and not be weighed down with all the drama and emotions that came with it.

"Alice, could you stay please?" I asked as she made to leave the room.

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea, Bella." She looked terrified, and while I couldn't blame her, Jasper needed to apologize.

"He won't hurt you, Alice. I won't allow it." I assured her and she lingered by the door as he walked in and made his way to the bed where he sat down and made to kiss me.

"Uh-uh, Jasper. I think you have something to say to Alice." I cocked an eyebrow at him and he huffed.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Jasper!" I scolded.

"I'm sorry I ripped you apart and treated you so badly. I know that you didn't mean any harm, though I'm still angry that you had something to do with her leaving me." His arms were folded across his chest and he looked like a toddler being told to sit in time out, but at least it was a start.

"I accept your apology, Jasper, and I would really like it if we could start over and be friends." Alice's voice shook a little, but she held her head high and even managed a smile.

Jasper looked at me and I knew that he wasn't happy about it but he gave a terse nod.

"See, now that wasn't so bad, was it? Thanks for talking to me, Alice." She nodded and smiled sincerely before leaving the room.

"You look beautiful, little girl." He kissed my lips sweetly causing my usual blush.

"Thanks, Jay. How was your hunt?"

"Fine. Emmett says we should go somewhere with better game. He says that Washington has bears." I know that I must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

"What's wrong?" He asked, stroking my cheek.

"My dad lives in Washington." Even I could hear the longing in my voice.

"Do you want to see him, little girl?"

"Yes," I whimpered.

"Then you will. We'll have to figure out some excuse as to why you disappeared off the face of the earth, but if you want to see your father, then I'll make it happen. I would do anything for you." I looked into his eyes and pressed my lips to his. I knew then that I would do anything for him too. Even become a member of the undead.

"Thank you, Jasper. You're so good to me; good _for_ me. You know, before you I just sort of walked through life. Honestly, it probably took weeks for anyone to even realize that I was gone. But you… you bring me to life. You force me to come out of my shell and feel things. And most importantly, you've given me you. Even if you were to realize that I wasn't for you, you have given me your friendship and shown me that there is more to life than just the day-to-day." I love you, were the words that I wanted to say, but I couldn't. Not yet. So I showed him. I let my love for him flow through me. I could practically feel it as if it were a living force, pouring from my body.

When it hit him he sucked in a ragged breath and held me close.

"You're everything, little girl. I would give my life if you asked me to, because my very existence depends upon you now. Please don't talk about you not being for me? It hurts me so much. Just focus on what you're feeling. Would you like me to show you what I feel for you?" I nodded, unable to speak and was hit with a dose of love, so strong that I thought I would pass out. It was jumbled with a plethora of other emotions; admiration, devotion, gratuity, and desire. But the overpowering emotion… the one that filled my soul to the brim, was love. All-consuming, and awe-inspiring love.

**So, I have decided that the haters will always hate Alice and Edward, so there will be no more trying to convince you otherwise. They will be changing as well as Alice's visions will be less and less frequent. Alice will be living in the present for the first time in her life and it will free her.**

**So, what did you think? Did everyone like an annoyed Bella? I, personally had a lot of fun with this chapter!**


	7. Chapter 6

**You guys blew me away with the response to the last chapter! We have more cranky Bella for your reading pleasure this chapter! I hope you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just like to play with them ;)**

**Big thanks to Nostalgicmiss for being your awesome self!**

**Chapter 6**

"No! No, no, no, no, no!" I had been cooped up in that bed for two weeks, since the overbearing, pain-in-the-ass Major refused to allow me to leave other than to use the bathroom or shower. Alice, Rosalie, and Charlotte had taken it upon themselves to "occupy" me. This meant that they wanted to play more Bella Barbie. Yeah, right. Like they thought I had fun playing dress-up. I think they just liked having a life-sized doll to play with.

"I don't want to play dress-up! I want to get out of this damn bed! I'm in a house full of super strong vampires! Someone can carry me down the fucking stairs!" Rosalie giggled as I swatted her hands away from my hair.

"Jasper said…" Alice started, but I interrupted.

"I don't give a flying fart in space what Jasper says! If I don't get out of this room I am going to lose my damn mind!"

"Now, Sugar, the Major was very specific about what we were and weren't allowed to do with you. One of his instructions was that you are to remain in this bed." Jasper had gone hunting with Emmett. Actually, I had forced him to go hunting since he was getting on my damn nerves with all the hovering. The man was hot as hell, but his bossiness was wearing on me.

"Pussies! You're all a bunch of pussy-ass bitches!" I threw a pillow at the mirror since it was all that was available.

Rosalie and Charlotte broke out into laughter and Alice fought to contain herself. I could understand why she would be hesitant to go against Jasper, but I was simply tired of being treated like an infant. I knew that if Emmett were there, he would help me. He enjoyed goading Jasper into wrestling matches.

"Peter!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

"Yes, princess?" He poked his head in the door. He may have been a pain, but he had a weak spot for me, especially when I pouted.

I gave the best puppy dog eyes I could muster and slightly stuck out my bottom lip.

"Ah hell," Peter mumbled as Char giggled.

"Pete, please take me out of this room. You're not afraid of the Major, are you?" I looked at him sweetly through my lashes.

"You're gonna' get me killed, princess," he groaned but made his way over to the bed. Of course, Jasper chose that exact moment to jump through my window, ruining my plans. I growled at him and he made an attempt at looking stern.

"Dammit, Jasper, I've had enough of being in this bed! You're workin' my last nerve here!"

"Little girl, you need your rest to recover. I need you well so that we can go to Washington. You still want to see your father, right?" Damn him for using my dad to get his way. I crossed my arms over my chest and turned my cheek when he went to kiss me. If I thought it wouldn't have caused a battle of epic proportions or given Edward hope I would have asked him to take me so that Jasper had no leverage.

"Aw, now don't be that way, darlin'." I refused to even acknowledge him. "Well, all right, little girl. Since I've apparently pissed you off I'll just go downstairs." He lingered like he thought I would stop him. No way in hell was I letting him off that easy.

I sulked for a good two hours while Charlotte constantly chuckled in the corner.

"Oh, hush," I shushed her and went back to cursing Jasper under my breath. Suddenly, the door was flung open and a CD player slid into the room on a skateboard. My first thought? Why the hell would vampires have a skateboard?

Char laughed out loud and clicked play. I rolled my eyes when the music started and Emmett and Peter walked in the door in jeans, white t-shirts, bomber jackets, and aviator glasses. I immediately put two and two together and fought the smile that wanted to creep across my face.

Emmett began singing dramatically for the first two lines when Peter joined in.

_You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips.  
And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips.  
You're trying hard not to show it, (baby).  
But baby, baby I know it..._

You've lost that lovin' feeling,  
Whoa, that lovin' feeling,  
You've lost that lovin' feeling,  
Now it's gone...gone...gone...wooooooh.

Jasper slid into the room, dressed the same as the other two and took over the next verse. I finally gave in and giggled like a school girl at seeing the big-bad-Major acting like a goof.__

Now there's no welcome look in your eyes  
when I reach for you.  
And now you're starting to criticize little things I do.  
It makes me just feel like crying, (baby).  
'Cause baby, something in you is dying.  


The rest all decided to stand in the doorway and join the boys in the rest of the song. I could see Carlisle and Esme dancing in the hall. Edward and Alice sang dramatically to one another, going more over the top than I had ever seen them.

_You lost that lovin' feeling,  
Whoa, that lovin' feeling,  
You've lost that lovin' feeling,  
Now it's gone...gone...gone...woooooah_

Baby, baby, I get down on my knees for you.

If you would only love me like you used to do, yeah.

We had a love...a love...a love you don't find everyday.

So don't...don't...don't...don't let it slip away.

Baby (baby), baby (baby),  
I beg of you please...please,  
I need your love (I need your love),  
I need your love (I need your love),  
So bring it on back (So bring it on back),  
Bring it on back (so bring it on back).

Bring back that lovin' feeling,  
Whoa, that lovin' feeling  
Bring back that lovin' feeling,  
'Cause it's gone...gone...gone,  
and I can't go on,  
noooo...

Bring back that lovin' feeling,  
Whoa, that lovin' feeling  
Bring back that lovin' feeling,  
'Cause it's gone...gone...

I clapped loudly when they were all done. "That was great, guys! You should take that act on the road!"

I was still laughing loudly when Char joined me on the bed. "Our men are all class, huh, Sugar?"

"Definitely. But Pete? I think you were off key once or twice." He looked appalled and Emmett guffawed and clapped him on the back, causing him to stumble.

"Miss Bella, I think you need to have your ears checked, 'cause that was perfection." He winked at me and smiled.

"So," Jasper sat on the other side of me and batted his eyelashes, "am I forgiven?"

"While that was an impressive display, and very out of character of you, I am still mad that you won't let me out of this bed. Although, you were adorable going all _Top Gun_ on me. I'll forgive you if you carry me downstairs to the couch."

He looked thoughtful for a moment before looking to Carlisle. "Major, she will be perfectly fine on the couch. She could even get up and use her crutches…" Jasper cut him off with a growl and he smiled then held his hands up in submission.

"Please, Jay?" I whined and he rolled his eyes before lifting me into his arms. I squealed and kissed him soundly on the lips.

"Well, if I had known that would be your reaction maybe I would have caved sooner." I rolled my eyes at the smirk he had plastered on his face.

"Oh hush!" I looked over to see Alice staring at her feet. Edward was rubbing her back and looked up to give me a sad smile.

Jasper sat on the couch with me planted firmly on his lap.

"Jay?" I asked and Alice's eyes snapped to mine.

"What, little girl? You're not running any marathons today." Smart ass.

"No, I just think that maybe you should go for a walk with Alice." As much as the thought of them being alone together killed me, I knew it was the reason they were still here. Peter rolled his eyes dramatically and I gave him the finger.

"Why?" Jasper asked curtly.

"Because I said so. You do remember our agreement, don't you?" I gave him a stern look.

"Yes," he hissed.

"So, go and talk with Alice. And be nice! I'll be here when you get back." I kissed his cheek and he gave me a lingering look before standing and placing me back on the couch.

"Keep your hands to yourself," he growled at Edward as he walked out the door.

**JPOV**

"Well, are you coming or what?" I could feel the fear rolling off her small body in waves.

She flitted to my side and glanced at me before quickly looking away.

"Look, Bella wants me to do this. I see no point in us having any sort of interaction. It won't change anything." I knew how defensive I sounded but I wanted her to know that my heart lied with Bella and she had no chance.

"I know that you love her, and I'm sorry that I've caused trouble, but you have to understand…" She looked at me for assurance to continue and I nodded.

"Major, I have seen you for years. My very first vision was of you and me together. It was what kept me going. You have been my life for as long as I can remember and I had to try."

"And what have you seen of Bella and me?" I asked, feeling for any deception in her emotions.

"I have seen visions of you happy, and I have seen other visions that greatly disturbed me. Of all my visions of us together… they were all happy. You were at peace. The last visions I got of you with Bella you were red-eyed and feral. I have only seen the like of it with newborns. Well, and you when Bella left. But even that was nothing. You were raging and Bella was afraid. She was cowering in a corner, crying."

There was no lie in her words. I could feel her genuine affection for my little girl, and worry at what may have caused the vision.

"So, you thought Bella and I would be better off without one another?" I sneered.

"You wouldn't have been without one another. You would have been family."

"I know that you mean well, Alice, but she is my mate. Nothing will change that." I didn't particularly care about her feelings, but my Bella did, so I decided to be civil.

"Well, if that is what you believe then I will not interfere, but I would like to try and change that particular vision. Bella was a vampire when I originally had the vision but recently that has changed and she was still human and after I saw her cowering the vision just went blank. I am afraid for both of you, but especially Bella. She is very special, Jasper." I could feel how much she loved my mate and even though I had hurt her terribly, she still loved me as well.

"Well, I would like to change that as well. I can't live without her." I could feel the panic building at the mere thought of not having her with me always. I would have to change her soon. I had hoped that she would ask me, but I would not allow her to die.

"If you change her against her wishes she will be angry for a long time. She would leave, Jasper." God, she was annoying.

"I assume that you've _seen_ this?"

"Yes." She answered simply.

"What was I like? In your visions?" I knew it wouldn't change anything, but I couldn't help but be curious.

"You were quiet, much like you are now, but you were at ease for the most part. You still had trouble with human blood at times, but we always worked through it. It was amazing, you were surrounded by serenity and while you didn't smile a lot, I knew that you were happy." She smiled wistfully as she thought about it.

"And there was the sex…" she slapped her hand over her mouth and giggled. My eyes widened in shock and I could feel the embarrassment coming off of her.

"Sorry," she apologized and I nodded, attempting to ignore the lustful feelings coming from her.

I was no prude, but I belonged to Bella. Alice may have been a looker, but my little girl was everything.

"And you still can't get visions far into the future?" She shook her head no.

"Maybe it has something to do with Bella and the reason Edward can't read her mind. When I was in the Southern Wars, Maria turned one human who as a vampire was a shield. His shield did not manifest while he was human, but he was very powerful. I can only imagine how powerful Bella would be."

"That would make sense. But I could always see her before. This is so confusing! It's like being blind for me!" She tugged at her spiky hair and I took pity and sent her a wave of calm.

We walked in silence for a while. I was digesting everything that she had told me. I wondered what would cause Bella to be so frightened. Was it me? Worry took over my whole being and I found myself unable to stay away from her any longer.

"Alice," I started but she held her hand up.

"Go home. I know. Tell the others I'll be along shortly." I nodded and took off.

My little girl was just where I had left her, only she now had an Xbox controller in her hand and was yelling at Emmett, who had the other.

"You're a cheater!" She yelled and threw the TV remote at his head.

"I can't help it that you suck, Bella-Boo. You'll get better. You'll never beat me, but you'll get better."

"Shit ass!" She mumbled under her breath.

"Sore loser," he retorted with a smile.

"Again!" She picked up the controller and Emmett laughed at her persistence.

"Is this what you were desperate to get out of bed for?" I asked as I lifted her so that she was in my lap.

"Em is supposed to be teaching me, but he hasn't taught me a damn thing! Cheater!" She yelled again as Emmett shot her on the game.

"The only way for you to learn is by playing. That is how I teach." He smirked.

"Rose, can you help me out here?" Bella asked, never taking her eyes off the television. Rosalie smacked him on the back of his head and Bella sent her a quiet "thank you".

"Has it been like this the whole time I've been gone?" I asked.

"It was worse before Bella knew how the controller worked. She has a mouth like a trucker." Peter answered between chuckles.

"I finally explained to her exactly how it worked. If she wasn't so stubborn I could have helped more, but…" Edward spoke until I growled at him. Bella shot me a glare before going back to the game.

I found myself wondering how the God of War was able to be silenced by a mere human girl. She had no idea just what it meant for me to give in to her every whim. I gave in to no one. Peter must have realized what I was thinking and winked at me. He was the same way with Char.

"Jay, rip his thumbs off or something so I can win!" Bella whined and it was so cute that I kissed her nose and actually thought about doing as she asked.

"No way, man!" Emmett jumped off the couch and his behind Rosalie. "I need my thumbs!"

I laughed at his antics, as did everyone else in the room. Bella snuggled into me and I felt a strong wave of jealousy coming from Edward.

"Get used to it, pretty boy," I growled and he answered with a growl of his own.

"Oh, don't start!" Bella leveled us both with one look and we lowered our heads.

"Yes, dear," I teased.

"Did I hear correctly that you are planning to go to Washington?" Carlisle asked once everything had calmed down.

"That's the plan. Bella would like to see her father."

"Well, we have a home there that is large enough to accommodate everyone, but I need to warn you that we have a treaty with a pack of shape shifters that live in the area."

"Shape shifters? You mean the wolves?" We all looked at Bella.

"You know about them?" Edward asked, astonished.

"Of course. Jacob Black is my best friend." I felt myself bristling and decided that I wasn't going to like the upcoming conversation.

"Can someone fill me in on what the fuck is going on?" I looked around the room.

"The Quileute's are a small tribe of Native Americans outside of Forks. They believe that they are descendants of wolves. They actually shape-shift into wolves the size of horses in order to protect people from vampires. But Bella, I am highly surprised that they allowed you to know of their secret." I could feel Carlisle's curiosity and Edward's anxiousness.

"Bella, those wolves are dangerous! You could have been killed!" Edward's outburst had me furious. Was my little girl intent upon always being in harm's way?

"Pfsh, they're a bunch of overgrown puppies!" Bella waved her hand around as if it meant nothing.

"Puppies?" Emmett burst into laughter and Rose immediately smacked him.

"Well, they are to me anyway," Bella smiled fondly.

"I'm sorry, Bella, but would you mind telling us how you came to know of them?" Carlisle sat next to Bella.

"Well, Jake and I have known each other practically from birth. His father and mine are best friends. Jake and I got close when I lived in Forks; we even dated briefly." I growled at that but she simply ignored me and continued. "One day, he just stopped coming around. His dad said that he was sick, but when I was driving one day I ran into him and a bunch of the guys from the rez jumping off a cliff. I knew that he wasn't sick and I confronted him. One of the pack members sort of has a problem with his temper and phased right in front of me. Jake then phased to protect me and that was that. I was accepted as part of the pack and the rest is history. I had no idea the reason they shifted, though. Only that they were known as the protectors of the tribe."

"So you had no idea about vampires?" Edward asked.

"Obviously not. These three shocked the shit out of me." She chuckled, obviously remembering our first meeting.

"So, you are not still in contact with Jacob Black?" I asked, but it came out along with a low rumble from my chest.

"Obviously not. I was before I came here. His imprint and I are good friends as well." We all looked at her quizzically and she went on to explain the wolves imprinting. Apparently, this pup and my little girl had been "dating" when he met Vanessa, his imprint. They were now married and had a baby on the way.

"So, he's probably aware of you being missing?" I wondered out loud.

"Probably. Oh shit! He's going to flip out when he realizes that I've been with vampires this whole time! We're going to have to come up with something good!" She put her face in her hands and began taking deep breaths.

"What is the treaty?" Bella mumbled but we all heard her.

"Basically that we don't drink from, or turn, any humans and they don't try to kill us." Emmett stated simply.

"Great," Peter muttered. "So our eyes would have to be golden in order to go with you?"

Carlisle nodded and Peter and Charlotte wrinkled up their noses in disgust.

"So it will be a few weeks before we could go, then, huh?" Bella asked. My eyes had already begun to change. They were already more golden than the orange color they had become.

"Looks that way, squirt." Emmett walked by and ruffled Bella's hair.

"Well, Petey, looks like you better let Em and Jasper show you how it's done." Bella giggled at the horrified expression on Peter's face.

"And I suppose we should start planning a good enough story and making preparations for our return." The Cullens all went their own way to discuss the matter while Bella snuggled into me further.

"Thank you for doing this for me, Jay. You too, Peter and Char. It means so much to me."

"You're family, princess. We would do anything for you." Peter kissed her forehead. "Now I suppose is as good a time as any. Char, you wanna' come with me to deplete some wildlife?"

**Sort of a filler, but I still had fun with it! Don't forget to share your thoughts with me! And for my Paul lovers out there, I just posted a Paul/Bella one shot. It is in no way related to The Hothead and his Imprint.**

**Bella discovers that her man of 9 years is cheating on her… by his girlfriend announcing it at their WEDDING! She wants to let loose for a night. Can the tatto'd bad boy, Paul help her with that?**


	8. Chapter 7

**Thanks so much for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts! I tried to respond to every review, but I think I made a mistake posting a chapter for three different stories at once! LOL! I apologize if I missed replying to your review! I read and loved every one!**

**If you want to check out banners for any of my stories, the links are on my profile!**

**As always, I don't own Twilight! If I did, I would be living in Washington State on a secluded compound in the middle of the woods, surrounded by hot shirtless men paid to do all the work for me! LOL! Right, Weezy?**

**Chapter 7**

"So, you really think that will work? I mean, you're gone for months and you show up with a shit load of vampires and tell them that you were kidnapped and we saved you?" Jasper was skeptical. Hell, so was I, but it was all I could come up with. I mean, seriously, they were vampires with hundreds of years of combined experience and I didn't hear any of them coming up with anything better.

"Well, Major, do you have any better ideas?" Cranky seemed to be my new mood of choice.

"Don't look at me for any help. I'm blind when it comes to the wolves, not that I can see past the next few days anyway." Alice's mood seemed to match mine so I patted the empty seat next to me on the couch.

Jasper growled at her when she sat down but I silenced him with a glare.

"I think Bella's plan could work. It just needs to be refined a bit." Edward smiled to show his support causing Jasper to mumble under his breath. I would have scolded him if I had the energy.

"Thanks, Edward. Nice to know that _someone_ has some faith in me." Jasper raised the pitch of his voice to imitate me but it just came out sounding like "me me mememe".

"Dude, you totally just sounded like mini-me!" Emmett guffawed and Rosalie slapped the back of his head.

"Ouch, babe!"

"So, back to the problem at hand. Bella, you said that you know these dogs well, right?" Peter asked and I nodded. "Do you think that they would believe you? I mean how did we find you? Who took you? Why didn't you go to the police once you were found?"

"Well, we could say that vampires took me and that I couldn't go to the police because who the hell would believe me? I could say that Jasper found me and saved me. Maybe we could say he had a prior acquaintance with the Cullens and once he found out I knew them, called them for help?" Okay, so it wasn't the best plan, but what else could we do? The question was whether or not Jake would go for it. He was like an overprotective brother on steroids.

"Maybe you should call them first. Tell them that we just found you and that Carlisle is checking you out. You know, lay the groundwork." I loved Alice!

"Yeah, and I could pretend to be mad at Jake for not telling me that vampires existed in the first place. I'm not a great liar, but I am actually sort of pissed that Jake and the guys didn't tell me about the existence of vampires. My anger at him could help." I was starting to feel a little better about the situation.

"Someone give me a phone!" I was actually pretty excited if I was being honest. I couldn't wait to see the pack and my Dad.

"Uh, don't you think we should wait a bit?" Jasper looked worried, and judging by how badly he was projecting, it was pretty bad.

"Jay, how about you take me for a walk?" His newly golden eyes bored into mine and he nodded, lifting me into his arms.

Once we were far enough from the house I touched my favorite scar and he smiled down at me.

"Why are you so worried, Jay?"

"What if you get back home and don't want me anymore? I can't let you leave me, but I won't hurt you either. What if the wolves take you from me? You would be angry if I killed them."

"Of course I would be angry if you killed them! They are like family to me. But it won't come to that. They know me well enough to realize that they can't make any decisions for me. You have to trust in me and how I feel about you, Jasper." I wanted to reassure him. The only way I would ever leave him was if he chose someone else.

"And how do you feel about me?" He asked, seeming unsure. I wondered if I could open myself up that way. Could I tell him that I loved him? Was I ready for that?

"Little girl, you're emotions are all over the place. Just tell me." I love you. See, I could say it in my head. My mouth was just refusing to work. I decided to let him feel it instead.

"I suppose that will work. For now." The ass smirked at me before giving me a lingering, passionate kiss.

"Hmm… I love when you do that," I murmured and nuzzled into his neck.

"I love it too, which is why I do it," he chuckled. Ass.

We walked (well he walked and carried me) and talked for a while longer. I filled him in on the guys and he seemed to be feeling a little better about the situation. I did make sure to warn him about Paul. We hadn't gotten along at first, but in the end we became very close; in our own, living-to-annoy-one-another way. He loved to get a rise out of people and his temper was legendary. Paul and Jasper together would not be a good combination. We finally made it back to the house and Peter greeted me on the porch with his phone.

"Thanks, Pete," I grinned at him.

"No problem, princess." He winked and Jasper rolled his eyes.

Once I was seated on the couch, everyone gathered around me, waiting to see how the phone call would turn out. Alice couldn't see and I knew that it made her incredibly nervous.

"Hello?" Jake sounded tired.

"Jake?" I heard rustling then everything was silent. "Jake, are you still there?"

"Bells? Oh God! We all thought you were dead! Where are you? I'll call the pack and we'll be on our way!"

"Jake! Calm down! I need to tell you something but you have to calm down first." I heard Vanessa mumbling in the background then there was more rustling.

"Jacob Black! You give me that phone this minute!" Vanessa screamed at him and I laughed when I heard her voice.

"Isabella Swan! You better have a damn good reason why you disappeared off the face of the earth! I am over here, seven months pregnant, and my baby's godmother is off doing who knows what! Wait! Did you elope? Is this about a man?" The excitement in her voice told me that I was forgiven. She never was very good at holding grudges.

"She better not have put us all through this over a man!" Jake bellowed.

"Can you put me on speaker? I only want to have to say this once?" I rolled my eyes, knowing that Jake would want every detail recounted to him if not.

"Okay, we're here, and Jake has promised to be calm," Vanessa assured me.

"Well… shit. How do I start this? Oh, I know, Jacob Black, how could you NOT tell me that VAMPIRES existed?" I was met with momentary silence before all hell broke loose.

"VAMPIRES? Have you been with vampires? Bella, I need to know where you are right this minute!" Jake was freaking out.

"Yes, but these vampires saved me from the ones that kidnapped me." I hoped that Jake was too distracted to notice how my voice shook with the partial lie. I mean, Peter, Char, and Jasper _did_ kidnap me.

"You were kidnapped by leeches? Are you… I mean, did they bite you?" Jake whispered the last question.

"No, I am still as human as the day I was born. But it would have been nice to have been prepared. I mean, who would have thought that being hit on by some guy at a club would have led to all this?" I decided that sticking as closely to the truth as possible was best.

"So, what happened? I mean… shit… I just need to know if you are safe right now. The vampires who _saved_ you. Are you safe with them?"

"Yes, Jake. Apparently you know them. The Cullens?" I swear I could hear crickets chirping in the background.

"The _Cullens_ saved you?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

"Well, sort of. The vampires that saved me are acquaintances of the Cullens and called Carlisle to come check me out." Carlisle nodded and Jasper sent me a wave of calm and confidence.

"Why didn't you call me, Bells? We've been worried sick! Just tell me where you are." Poor Jake. I hadn't thought of how bad things must have been for him.

"No need. We're coming to Forks. Apparently there is some treaty between the pack and the Cullens?" Jake sighed and confirmed it. "Well, I want the treaty extended to three more vampires."

"Are you out of your mind? No way! I don't even like having the Cullens here!" I could hear Vanessa trying to calm him down.

"Well, then I'm not coming home! They are like family to me, just like you and the pack." Jake knew that I was as stubborn as they came and I wouldn't let it go.

"Fine, but they better not eat anyone! And I want you to come here first. Alone. Ness and I will take you to Charlie." Jasper was growling loudly and I tried to shush him, but it didn't work.

"My _mate_ is not going off with some pack of dogs alone!" Jasper was standing now, with me in his arms. The Major was not pleased.

"MATE? What the fuck, Bells?" Jake screamed.

"Is that like a boyfriend? Do you finally have a man, Bella?" I could practically see Vanessa jumping up and down.

"Ness! He's a leech! No!"

"Shut it, Jacob Black! Now, spill, girl! Is he hot! Did you get rid of your V card yet? Details! I need details!" I couldn't help but giggle and Jasper seemed to calm slightly.

"He is definitely hot! Like, Jensen Ackles hot!" Vanessa squealed at the mention of her favorite actor, and object of her lust. Jake hated him, obviously.

"Are you both insane? He's a damn bloodsucking, stinkin' ass vampire!" I could practically picture Jake tugging at his hair.

"If I have to tell you one more time to shut it, Jake…" Vanessa warned. "So, hun, when will you and your man be here?"

I looked to Jasper who answered for me. "We'll be headin' that way in two days. So, you'll see us Friday."

"Lord, girl! That accent! You bring that cowboy to meet me!" We were both giggling and completely ignoring Jake who was mid-rant about vampires and stupidity.

"I want to talk to the vampire who _thinks_ you're his mate." I could practically hear Jake's jaw clenching.

I handed Jasper the phone. "Yes?" Jasper was so damn calm.

I couldn't hear what Jake was saying, but it obviously amused Jasper.

"She is very safe with me, pup… Yes, well, I've fought two wars, human and vampire. How about you?... Not a hair on her head will be out of place… I will consider it… That will not be necessary. We will call you when we reach Forks. You can meet us at the Cullen's home…. I look forward to it."

He calmly handed me the phone. "Jake?"

"Bells, I don't like this, but I trust your judgment. Plus, my wife has threatened to castrate me if I give you and your… whatever he is, any problems. Just, be safe."

"I will, Jake. Rub the belly for me and hug Billy and Ness."

"Sure, sure. Love you, Bells."

"Love you too, Jake." I hung up the phone and was immediately hit with a wave of anger and jealousy. Jasper was shaking and Emmett, Edward, and Carlisle shot into action. They grabbed Jasper while Peter ripped me from his arms.

"What the hell is going on?" I screeched as Jasper thrashed against the three vampires. Alice stood in front of me even though I could practically feel her fear rolling off her.

"Take him outside! Get as far away as you can!" Peter was barking orders and Emmett nodded as they dragged Jasper away.

"The fuck?" I asked, looking to the remaining vampires in the room.

"Um, how do I put this delicately?" Peter looked thoughtful. "Have you told the Major that you love him?"

"No?"

"Yet you can say the words so easily to your K-9 friend." I still didn't get it. Jasper never said he loved me either and I knew that he loved Char.

"What's the big deal? Jake has been my best friend since we were in diapers. Of course I love him. Just like Jasper loves you and Char."

"All he heard was his mate tellin' another man she loves him. He doesn't have that reassurance from you. He's pissed and hurt and now he needs to hurt somethin'. We had to get him away from you before he marked you out of anger." After Peter explained I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. I had hurt my Major.

Bile made its way into my throat and I ran for the front door since it was closer to the bathroom. I emptied the contents of my stomach as images of Jasper's face floated through my mind. I did the only thing I could, which was to run further into the yard and scream his name at the top of my lungs.

"Bella! No!" Peter shouted, but it was too late. There was a loud noise; like thunder and ripping metal. Peter and Char immediately crouched in front of me as Jasper came into view. He was throwing off the Cullen men like they were nothing.

"Major, you know you can't touch her right now," Char tried to reason with him.

"Little girl," Jasper growled and held out his hand. I couldn't deny that I was terrified but I didn't know what else to do.

Edward made an attempt to grab Jasper, which ended with Edward's right arm being torn from his body.

"Jasper! Stop!" I cried as tears streamed down my face.

"Captain, I suggest you and yer mate move outta' the way **now**." Jasper's tone left no room for argument.

"It's okay, Pete." I patted his shoulder and he looked down at me; worry clouding over his face.

No sooner than I was in front of Peter and Charlotte I was in Jasper's arms.

"I want you to tell me why you said that to the dog," Jasper ordered while dragging his nose along my neck. His grip on me was tight, but not quite to the point of being painful.

"He's my friend," I managed to squeak. "I love him like you love Peter and Char. No different."

"Are you afraid, little girl? Of course you are. I can feel it." I lifted my head so that I could see him and was met with pitch black eyes.

"Do you want me to be afraid? 'Cause you're doing a good job," I whispered.

"I don't want you to fear me, little girl. But I do want you to know who you belong to."

Everyone stood perfectly still as Jasper kissed my pulse point, then trailed his tongue down my neck.

"Please…" I whimpered, "don't do this."

He wanted to mark me, and by doing so he could drain me or turn me. I knew that he would hate himself if he killed me and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to be a vampire yet.

"You are mine, Isabella. Say it." Growls were coming from every direction and I prayed that they would all just stay back. Jasper was too close to losing it as it was.

"Yours. I'm yours." Tears streamed down my face as he purred into my neck. Never since meeting him had I feared Jasper, but all I wanted to do was get free and run far away. I was his. Why did he need to act that way and force me to tell him? His voice was cold and cruel. There was no trace of the Jasper I was in love with.

Normally I would send him soothing emotions, but I couldn't conjure anything but hurt and fear. I closed my eyes and just waited for the nightmare to be over.

"Major," Peter pleaded.

"Stand down, Captain. This is between me and Isabella." A sob broke free from my chest.

"Stop it!" I heard Alice scream and I looked up to see her fearful eyes giving her away. Bless her heart, she was trying to look fierce.

"You're going to ruin everything!" She yelled and Carlisle grabbed her, keeping her in place.

"Enough!" Jasper bellowed.

"Do you love me, Isabella?" I almost choked. Was he really asking me that?

"What?" I blanched.

"Tell me you love me! I know you feel it, now say it!" I cried even harder as he yelled in my face.

"I love you! I love you!" I sobbed and fell to my knees as he finally released me.

Peter carefully lifted me into his arms and glared at Jasper, who seemed to have finally come to his senses.

"Little girl," he whispered as I buried my face into Peter's neck.

"Bella, you're hyperventilating," Carlisle spoke. Is that what I was doing? Is that what the tightness in my chest was? I thought it was my heart breaking.

"You need to slow down your breathing, love." Edward was in front of me, touching my face. Jasper was allowing it? Edward was missing an arm…

Black. Everything went black.

I woke up in my bed. No… not my bed. The bed I had been using in _his _house. I wanted out. I wanted Jake and the pack. I wanted my dad.

"Little girl…" Jasper's voice sounded hoarse and I turned my head. I couldn't look at him. All I could see was his cold, black eyes as he ruined everything.

"Please…" I still wouldn't look but I felt him grab my hand. He sounded like he was crying, but I knew that vampires couldn't cry.

"I want to go home." My voice was flat.

"What? You are home. Your home is with me." He sounded like I felt. Heartbroken. But I couldn't live that way. Always afraid. You should never fear those that you love. He _forced_ me to say that I was his. Forced me to tell him that I loved him. Wrong. It was all wrong.

"No. I want to go back to where I belong. I want to go home to my dad and the pack." He laid his cold forehead on my arm and let out a deep breath.

"We're going, little girl. Just a couple more days." Why did he sound relieved?

"Not we. I'm going. You are staying here. I need to be away from you." I looked at him to show just how serious I was.

"What?" He whispered. "No." His voice became calm and commanding.

"Yes. I accepted that you are a vampire. I accepted that you kill. Hell, I even accepted you after you ripped poor Alice apart. But you don't hurt people that you l… that you care about. You just want to control me. If I was really your mate you couldn't have treated me that way."

"Bella," he whimpered.

"I have never seen Peter treat Charlotte that way. Or Carlisle with Esme, or Emmett with Rose. No, this is all wrong!" I tried to blink back tears but they fell anyway.

"I love you! Little girl, please!" Jasper was on his knees, begging.

"You don't love me. You can't." He lifted my hand and desperately placed my fingers on his scar.

"Please! I do! I'll show you!" He took on a look of deep concentration but I felt nothing.

"Why isn't it working? Why can't I feel you! Stop it!" He was getting hysterical and I called for Peter.

Peter and Emmett dragged him out of the room. Edward sat on the edge of the bed.

"What was that?" I asked.

"He couldn't feel your emotions, and when he tried to send you his they bounced off like they were hitting a wall. He panicked." I nodded, and probably would have been more worried, but I just couldn't bring myself to care.

"Can I go home now?" I asked through my tears. Great. I was crying… again.

"You know that he will follow you." He sighed.

"No. He won't. I will tell him I don't want him there. He has to respect that, right? He has to know that this is over now." My breathing picked up again. I was afraid for the pack and my father. Jasper had proved how volatile he was and I couldn't put them in danger.

"You don't want me?" Jasper stood in the doorway, looking like a lost little boy.

Of course I wanted him, but I couldn't keep him. Maybe Alice was right all along. I could never hurt him the way he had hurt me. He used my love for him to break me. Like some sort of wild animal.

"You can't come with me, Jasper. You could hurt someone that I care about. I couldn't let you hurt my dad. Or Jake and Ness. Or the rest of the pack."

"I won't! I swear! If you leave me I'll die!" Now he was being overdramatic. He had already explained just how hard it is for a vampire to die. Even still, the thought terrified me.

"I'm afraid he really believes that, Bella." Edward spoke, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Jasper. I don't think I can trust you. You used my feelings for you against me. You were cold and cruel… with ME, Jasper! ME!" In a flash he was in the bed curled into my side.

"I just lost it. You couldn't tell me how you felt, but you told him. I thought you loved him more and it drove me crazy. I just knew that you would leave me for him."

"He has a wife! And a child on the way! How can I trust you not to hurt any of them? You just admitted that you couldn't control yourself." I tried to speak softly but both of us knew how this would end. Edward slipped quietly from the room as Jasper and I held one another until I finally drifted off. All cried out.

**Yeah…. So… The Major had a bit of a fit. Is it wrong that I still feel bad for him even though he sort of brought this on himself. Now, before you freak out, there is a lot more story to go, and I believe in HEA. Plus, who could stay mad at an apologetic Jasper? As always, this is and will always be a Jasper/Bella fic. And did you guys notice Alice sticking up for Bella? See, she's not so bad!**

**So, tell me what you think!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its characters, unfortunately.**

**Thanks, as always to Nostalgicmiss for the hand-holding and for just being her! You are awesome, my dear!**

**Sorry this took longer than it was meant to. My little man and I both got a bad case of the flu! But enough excuses… on with the story!**

**Chapter 8**

**JPOV**

What had I done? I took my sweet little girl and made her terrified to even be in the same room with me. I took her love and threw it in her face. I was just so enraged! She could tell that mutt that she loved him, but not me? Her mate? The man that loved her with everything he had?

"Major, are you really just going to let her leave?" Peter asked with a smirk.

"Captain, I think you know me better than that." I couldn't return his smile. Even though I wouldn't be far, I still wouldn't be able to hold her. To feel her touch the scar she loved so much.

"So, what's the plan? You want Char and me to go with her and the Cullens?"

"Yep. I won't be far away. I am sure the Cullens will know of my presence, but they won't tell her."

"Why, Jasper? Why couldn't you just control your damn self for once?" Peter shook his head sadly.

"I've always been a hot head, but you know how it is with mated vampires. Or in this case a vampire and a human. You can't think logically."

"Not until you mark them," Peter urged.

"Well, I can't quite do that, now can I, smartass?"

"Not yet, but if you could have just kept your cool, it would have been done a lot sooner that it will be now." Damn, he was an asshole, even if he was right.

"You better go say your goodbyes. We'll be goin' soon." I nodded to Peter and he walked away.

"Jasper." Bella's voice almost brought me to my knees. I still couldn't feel her emotions, but the pain in her voice was enough.

"Hey, little girl." I walked over to her and she took a step back. Feeling defeated, I searched her face for any sign of her changing her mind. There was none.

"We're getting ready to go. I just wanted to say goodbye." My cold, dead heart jumped in my chest.

"Please, let me come with you?" I had to try just once more.

"I can't trust you, Jasper. I've asked Alice to stay behind and make sure that you stick with your diet. Also, to make sure that you don't follow me." Damn, my girl was too smart for her own good.

"I know you, Jasper. You can't follow me. I've also asked Charlotte if she and Peter would stay. I know that they were planning on coming with me, but I think that you need them more than I do." At least with Pete and Char's help I could evade Alice and follow my little girl.

"No, Jasper. It won't work. If you follow me I will disappear for good. Believe me, I will know. The pack can smell a vampire from miles away. I have already talked to Jake and he will tell me if you're around. You need to let me go." Throughout her speech, her voice was flat and held no real emotion. Could she really be so unaffected?

"I'm not giving up, Bella. Not on you, and sure as hell, not on us. And I'll never be far away. Not Alice, the Cullens, or even your pups will be able to keep me away. They'll have to kill me first." I kept my tone soft, but I wanted her to know that my mind was made up.

"Why? Why do you have to do this? Can't you just respect my wishes?" I felt a flicker of hope pushing through whatever block she had up.

"Do you really want to go through life without me? Can you say that you truly don't want me anymore?" I took a step closer to her and listened as her heartbeat fluttered in her chest.

"You know that's not it. I love you, Jay. I just don't trust you." I knew that I should have focused on everything she said, but all I could think was that she told me she loved me. Of her own free will, she admitted it.

"I love you, little girl. More than words can express; and I know that I have hurt you, but I swear that I can do better. Just give me a chance, please?" Her eyes searched mine until they found whatever it was she was looking for.

I watched as she bit her plump lower lip, deep in thought.

"Okay." One word caused me to almost lose my shit.

"There are conditions." Shit, I knew that was too easy, but I would give her whatever she wanted.

"Anything," I breathed.

"You stay with the Cullens. You aren't to go near my father or any of the pack unless I say so. I will come to you, not the other way around. And you will learn to keep your temper in check. Until I am sure that you are capable of that, these rules will apply. Can you agree to that?" She asked, hands on her hips.

"How often will you come to me?" That was my main concern. I could handle the rest. For the moment, anyway.

"When I feel like it. I won't ignore you, but my dad and the pack are going to want to spend time with me. You have to accept that. They will all hug me, and I will smell like them. You cannot go into a rage and hunt them down." I nodded my head and swept her into my arms before she had a chance to protest.

I knew that there would be times that I was going to be overcome with jealousy, but I had to control myself. I couldn't lose Bella. I had to prove to her that I was capable of controlling myself.

"You ready to go, Princess?" Peter appeared beside us, a huge grin on his face.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so." She looked around and I could feel a little bit of longing slipping through.

"What is it, little girl?" I asked.

"I'm gonna' miss this place," she sighed.

"We can come back whenever you want. It's not going anywhere, and neither are we." Charlotte joined us and wrapped her arms around Bella.

"Good." I couldn't help but smile when she looked at me.

"Bella, dear, do you have everything?" Esme asked as she made her way onto the porch.

"I think so."

Before long we were all standing outside our respective vehicles, arguing over who Bella was going to ride with. I was the obvious choice, but Alice and Emmett proved to be very difficult. Alice wanted "girl time", whatever the fuck that was, and Emmett wanted to play video games with her while Rosalie drove. I just wanted to hold her.

"I actually feel like a father for the first time!" Carlisle chuckled as he took in the scene before him. We all stopped arguing and stared at him.

"Well, I've never actually seen my family fight over anything this way! Bella, you definitely have your hands full with this lot." Alice stuck her tongue out and I gave her a genuine smile. She had proved that she truly wanted everyone to be happy when she tried giving me pointers on how to get back into Bella's good graces.

"_Jasper, I love Bella like a sister, no matter how all this turns out. If she is who makes you happy then I will do everything I can to help you. You both deserve to be happy!" Her feelings showed that she was being honest._

"_I thought you were on some kick about you and me." I raised an eyebrow at her._

"_I was, but I've seen you two together. Plus, I need to stop living my life based on visions. Having my ability fail me lately has been a blessing. I can just make decisions on what feels right. It's very freeing." She smiled shyly at me and patted my knee before going back in the house._

Edward had even seemed to back off slightly. I could still feel his love and longing for Bella, but he was happy with the friendship they shared. I still hated his preppy ass, but I didn't want to rip him to pieces all the time. Emmett had been a surprise for me. He was happy… all the damn time, and loved to fight. We had great fun beating the shit out of one another. He was affectionate with Bella, but his brotherly love for her was so pure that I didn't even blink when he would wrap a heavy arm around her or kiss her loudly on the cheek.

"Jay? Does that sound good?" Bella snapped me out of my train of thought.

"Sorry, what are we talking about?" There were a few chuckles around me.

"I said that I will ride with Em and Rose for a bit, then when we stop for my human moment, I will ride with Alice and Edward. Then I'll finish the rest of the trip with you, Pete, and Char." I hated not being first, but it meant I got the majority of the long drive with her. I was never more thankful that vampires didn't need sleep and we wouldn't be staying overnight anywhere. Pete's four door, monster of a truck would give her plenty of room to stretch out and sleep.

"I suppose it will have to do." I rolled my eyes dramatically then smiled to let her know I was teasing her.

Bella's ride with Edward and Alice lasted way too long for my liking. I could hear everything being said, which wasn't what bothered me. It was the emotions that rolled off of the pretty boy every time Bella spoke. Awe, wonder, lust, and love. The last two bothered me the most, forcing Peter to keep me in place more than once. I could feel him hanging on her every word and it drove me to the brink of insanity. The worst of it was that his feelings were genuine. There was no question that he loved my little girl, but he respected her wishes.

"_Watch yourself, Eddie. She's mine and I don't share."_ I thought, knowing he would hear me.

I felt the anger and jealousy rise in him but he quickly squashed that shit when I felt Alice's fear spike. She must have had a very unpleasant vision. Edward's car came to an abrupt halt and I heard Bella asking what was wrong.

"Everything is fine, Bella. I just need to speak with Jasper." He reassured her.

"Edward," Alice warned but he brushed her off and headed in our direction. Emmett, Carlisle, and Peter immediately surrounded us hoping to keep the peace. I could hear Alice trying to keep Bella in the car.

"You could have hurt her! Are you insane?" Edward was boiling with rage and pushed me so that I went flying into the woods. I was back in front of him in a second, ready to rip him apart.

"Your jealousy over Bella could have caused her death! Is that what you want?" Edward seethed.

'What the hell is going on here? Alice, if you don't let me out of this car I am going to lose it!" Bella was beyond angry, and I knew it wasn't going to bode well for me.

"Bella, just stay in the car. Everything will be fine." Alice made an attempt at reassuring her, but it wasn't working.

"Alice…" Bella warned before bounding out of the car and in my direction. Edward and I were glaring at one another, but I could still see Bella in my peripherals.

"Is someone going to explain this to me?" Her hands were on her hips and if I didn't think she would have tried to light my ass on fire I would have laughed.

"Everything is fine, Bella. Jasper and I are simply having a disagreement," Edward spoke through gritted teeth.

"Uh huh, and I suppose that all disagreements end up this way?" She asked and I couldn't help myself.

"Oh no, sometimes they end in dismemberment." I smirked and she scowled at me.

"Jasper, if you don't tell me I am going to assume the worst and we both know what that would mean for our little trip here."

Damn, she had me there. If she thought I wasn't in control of my jealousy I would be forced to go back to my original plan of hiding in Forks. Not good.

"Okay, I was feeling jealous and apparently Alice had a vision that sent Eddie over the edge." There, that didn't sound so bad, did it? Edward snorted and Bella looked at him.

"Edward? What was this vision that Alice had?" Shit.

"Basically, Jasper…" He was cut off by Alice.

"Jasper just lost his temper over some emotions that Edward was feeling and there was a slight altercation. Edward just wanted to head it off." Thank you, Alice. Edward did not look pleased and they seemed to have a silent conversation before he agreed with her version of things, though we all knew it wasn't nearly that simple.

"For some reason I just don't think that's all there is to it." Bella glared at all of us, but no one said anything.

"Jasper, I think I'm going to ride with you for now. It seems that we need to have a conversation." Shit, she was pissed. Edward stifled a chuckle and Alice slapped his arm. I was liking her more and more these days.

"Anything you want, little girl." I tried to use my best smile, but her annoyance made her immune. Damn. I could feel Emmett and Peter's amusement and I knew that I was in trouble. Bella had me by the balls and Peter just loved seeing the Major put in his place by a slip of a human. I say again… damn!

Bella sighed heavily once we were situated in the truck. I heard Alice wish me good luck and Doucheward laughed loudly, the bastard that he is.

"Little girl…" I started but she held her hand up to stop me. Peter and Char both muffled their laughter.

"Jasper, I know there was a lot more to that little 'disagreement' than you're letting on, but all I'm going to say is that you don't have long to get your temper under wraps before we're in Forks. Don't make me regret my decision to keep you involved in my life."

"I won't. Pansyward just works my nerves and doesn't even bother to hide how he feels about you. And you're too damn sweet to tell him to fuck off."

"Edward is my friend. Alice has feelings for you and you don't see me going all Full Metal Jacket on her. Why? Because she would never do anything to hurt either of us. Edward would never hurt me, and he knows that hurting you means hurting me. I am fully aware of his feelings, but I am also aware of his character and he would never try to force anything on me. So, suck it up, Major." Bella turned to look out the window and I could hear Emmett guffawing in the car behind us. All the Cullen's were either laughing or trying to repress it. Even little Alice let out a giggle.

"I'm a possessive ass, little girl. You know this. As hard as I work to control myself, I will always be that way about you… at least until you let me truly make you mine." Peter snorted. "All right, even then I will probably be jealous. You have no reason to fear for your father or your pack of mutts, I promise."

"You're going to have reason to fear _me_ if you call them mutts again," Bella mumbled.

"Kitten has claws," Peter spoke too low for Bella to hear.

"Sorry, your _friends_ have no reason to fear me. As long as they feel nothing more than friendship for you they will be fine." My little girl turned beet red and I trained my gaze on her.

"What is it?" I asked when she still hadn't spoken.

"Um, well, one of them may have had a thing for me a while back. He still likes to flirt with me, but he's harmless. He will try to get you going, though. Paul is just like that."

I already didn't care for this Paul. He and I would have words, I was certain, but I would have to keep the Major under wraps or the mutt may end up missing a very important part of his anatomy.

The rest of the ride was spent with Bella curled into my side as she slept soundly. Peter and Char decided to use that time to tell me all the reasons why I should behave myself. Charlotte warned me that if I ran Bella off she was going to dismember me and hide each piece on a different continent. I cringed, well aware that she would do it… and enjoy it.

"Wake up, little girl. We're here." I whispered and stroked her cheek lightly.

She sat up and took in her surroundings when her eyes landed on the Cullen mansion. I could feel her awe, but mostly I could feel her excitement.

"Can I go and see my dad now?" She was practically giddy and her emotions were rubbing off so much that I was projecting them.

"Bella!" A loud squeal came from a fair skinned girl with jet black hair sitting on top of a giant russet wolf.

"Ness!" My little girl screamed as she jumped out of the truck and bolted in their direction. My first instinct was to stop her but I knew that it would only anger her. The giant dog laid down and I noticed the very pregnant girl sliding from her seat on its back. Three more wolves stepped out of the tree line and my whole body immediately tensed. Their emotions ranged from curious to downright angry and I fought for control of the Major who was snapping and snarling at the recesses of my mind.

After Bella finished hugging the pregnant girl she turned to the russet wolf and threw her arms around his massive neck. His brotherly love for her came off him in waves and put me slightly at ease. That was until a large gray wolf walked up and licked her cheek. The lust coming off of him was almost enough to knock me down and when I heard Edward growl in his direction I knew that his thoughts were just as bad as his emotions. Bella must have sensed my growing impatience because she popped him on the nose and went to the smaller gray wolf and stroked the fur on his neck. The black wolf stood on guard and his protectiveness never wavered or lessened.

I was thankful when her greetings were completed and she returned to my side with the girl on her arm.

"Ness, this is my Jasper. Jasper this is Vanessa, or Ness." Vanessa held out her hand for me to shake and surprisingly felt no fear or revulsion coming from her. Her mate, however, was shaking with restraint.

"It's all right, Jake. No one here will hurt her." Bella assured him and he stepped back into the woods. He returned in his human form, clad only in a pair of gym shorts.

"Jake!" Bella launched herself at him and he hugged her tightly.

"Ahem," Vanessa cleared her throat to get my attention.

"Sorry, ma'am. I just have trouble taking my eyes off of her." Vanessa giggled and absently rubbed her belly.

All the wolves except for the black one had changed back to their human forms and were embracing my little girl. I focused on the emotions coming from one of the men and zeroed in on the one I assumed was Paul. He only confirmed my suspicion when he squeezed my little girl's ass as he hugged her then winked at me over her shoulder.

Peter grabbed my shoulder to keep me in place but I couldn't stop the growl that erupted from my throat. Emmett had a firm grip on Edward as well and the women all seemed amused. I did not find the mutt's hand placement amusing in the slightest.

"Paul!" Bella scolded as she twisted his nipple.

"Ow, you little bitch!" Paul scolded, laughing the entire time. The way he spoke to her did nothing to suppress my rage.

"Shit-ass!" Bella chuckled.

"Jezebel," Paul said and thumped her forehead.

"Cunt! I win!" Bella shouted before pumping her fist in the air in triumph.

The pack laughed loudly, used to whatever little game they had just been playing, but we all stood confused. Paul slipped his arm around Bella's shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"Good to have you home, babe." He spoke to Bella but his eyes were on me. I must have been projecting again because Bella shrugged him off and walked in my direction.

"Doing okay, Jay?" She asked as she smiled sweetly at me.

"Haven't ripped anyone apart, so all in all I'd say I'm doing pretty well." I made an attempt of smiling but she wasn't fooled.

"I'm yours, Jay, just remember that. Focus on me and my feelings and push the rest aside, okay?" She gently grazed my scar.

"Sure thing, _babe_," I teased.

"Shut it," she giggled.

"So, Bells…" Vanessa rocked back and forth on her heels, grinning like a fool.

"Yep," my little girl replied and they went on to have some sort of silent conversation before erupting into giggles and walking away hand-in-hand.

"Get used to it, man, it's what they do. I'm Jake," He held out his hand for me to shake and once I was able to ignore the shock rolling off the Cullens and the rest of the wolves I returned the gesture.

"So you're the leech that saved our Bella?" Paul asked and the hostility that came off of him was overwhelming.

"Paul…" Jake warned.

"No, it's all right. He's perfectly entitled to his opinion. Personally I think it's more jealousy than anything, but that's his problem, not mine." I shrugged and Paul immediately began to shake.

"Shit!" Bella cursed before running to stand in front of me. "Paul, calm down!"

It was sweet that she thought the pup could harm me, but I wasn't willing to let her risk her own safety.

"Little girl, we'll be fine. I think the puppy is just in need of a lesson. Hmmm…. Where's that magazine you were carrying around?" Sure, I was goading him, but it was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Jasper, I'm warning you…" Bella was getting pissed. "Paul, I am well aware that you don't like this, but Jasper is here to stay. Now both of you need to stop trying to provoke one another!"

Tears filled her eyes and I realized just how important this pack of mongrels was to her.

"Shh, little girl, we'll be good, won't we?" I looked at Paul who was suddenly filled with tenderness toward my girl. That didn't sit well with me, but I would have to endure it.

"Bells, you must be tired, hun. Why don't you and Ness go inside and talk girl talk, or whatever it is you two do. Maybe you could take a nap, then we can go see Charlie." Jake's emotions showed that he was worried about them getting in the way of some sort of battle and from the worry Edward was projecting I agreed.

"Okay, Jake." Bella kissed his cheek and winked at me before dragging Vanessa into the house.

Once I was sure Bella wasn't listening in I spoke. "Look, dog, I am well aware of your feelings for my Bella, but just know that she is my mate. She cares about all of you, but I will not allow you the luxury of thinking that you can take her from me. Ask the Cullens what I am capable of. Or better yet, I am sure you have heard of the Southern Wars? Ever heard of the God of War? Well, that mean ass mother fucker is me, so back off." I was growling and Paul shook with unbridled anger.

"The God of War? Are you fucking kidding me? Only Bella." Jake shook his head in disbelief and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"That girl is a danger magnet! If it's supernatural and dangerous, Bella will find it! Hell, we saved her from a group of nomads a few years back and the girl never even had a clue. And she ends up with the God of War as her new boyfriend." He was laughing and clutching his stomach now. The other wolves didn't seem to be as amused, but I heard Edward breathe a sigh of relief.

"Well, while Jake apparently finds this humorous, I don't. God of War or not, I think there is more to this story than we know, and we deserve an explanation. And Bella belonged with us long before you ever knew her name, leech, so I wouldn't go about making assumptions. We're her family, and I would hate to see you force her to choose. It might not end the way you think." Paul, the bastard, smirked and that was all it took. I lunged before anyone could grab me and threw him into the woods. Even in my rage I didn't want to take the chance of Bella seeing me rip her furry friend into a million pieces.

"Major!" Peter called after me, but I would not be deterred. Paul shifted into his wolf form and snapped his teeth in the direction of my throat. He was fast, but I was faster. There were yells coming from both sides but we were both to focused on one another to care. I leapt onto his back and wrapped my arms around his neck with every intent of breaking it.

"Major! Bella! Think of Bella! You will lose her!" Char screeched and it distracted me long enough for the fucker to get loose and sink his teeth into my shoulder and rip my right arm from my body.

**Well, I know you are all about ready to kill me with the cliffies, but this would have gone on forever!**

**And for any of you Vampire Diaries fans (tv show, not the books) keep an eye out for my collab with Nostalgicmiss. It's AU NM, Bella/Damon.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: SM owns all things Twilight. I just like messing with the pairings ;)**

**As always, thanks to Nostalgicmiss for being her awesome self! If you haven't checked out our new collab, you should give it a shot. Her version of Bella cracks me up. Lots of backbone ;)**

**And finally, I didn't get to as many reviews as I would have liked. RL has been busy, but I read and loved every one! I also appreciate every alert and favorite! You guys are the best!**

**Chapter 9**

**BPOV**

I should have known that the idiots wouldn't be able to control themselves. Take a nap, my ass! What they didn't know was that Ness and I were really peeking out the window, watching everything that was going on. When Jasper and Paul fought their way into the woods I knew it was on like Donkey Kong and one, or both, of them was going to end up seriously hurt.

"Bells, maybe you should just stay here. Let them get it out of their systems. You know how Paul is, and the fact that he is one of the few remaining wolves to not imprint just makes him worse."

"I know they need to do this, but I don't want either of them hurt. Just because I don't want Paul the way he wants me doesn't mean that I don't care about his stupid ass!" I was happy to be home and have all my favorite people (beings… whatever) together, but I was tired of being fought over. Yeah, I know; poor Bella with all the perfect male specimens wanting her. Yeah, well, you try it! It sucks ass!

"He was beside himself when you went missing. We all were. Poor Jake almost went crazy. I had one of my feelings that you were okay, but it didn't reassure any of them. Paul looked everywhere; he even flew to Phoenix to try and find you. He couldn't catch a scent since you had been gone so long, but he didn't stop until Sam ordered him home. You're going to have to talk to him Bells."

"I know, Ness, and I don't want to hurt him, but he knows how I feel. I'm so sorry that I worried all of you!" I threw my arms around her and squeezed until I heard the sound of ripping metal.

Nothing could have kept me inside that house and I made it to the tree line before Peter grabbed me around the waist.

"You can't go in there, sugar. The Major would kill us all of we let you get hurt." He was trying to soothe me, but all I could hear were the snarls and snapping of teeth coming from the blurs of movement I saw.

"Jasper!" I cried, big fat tears rolling down my cheeks.

Paul, in wolf form, crashed into a tree and I noticed him dropping what looked like Jasper's arm.

"Paul! You stay right where you are or I'll never speak to you again! Jay!" My breathing was becoming labored as the panic of not seeing Jasper set in.

"He's okay. He's coming. Calm down." Peter held me tightly and tried to soothe me.

"Jasper! You come out here right now!" I screamed and after what felt like forever he stepped into my line if sight.

Paul growled loudly at him but didn't move. Jasper was in front of me before I could blink and I wrapped myself around him.

"No more fighting! No more! I was worried sick!" I peppered his face with kisses, ignoring the fact that he was missing an arm. Why the hell was he always losing arms?

"I'm fine, little girl. Paul and I just needed to get it out of our systems. We'll behave now, won't we?" He glared at Paul who nodded his head. I could tell he was reluctant, but he always did anything I asked even when he hated it.

"Could someone get Jasper's arm please?" I asked, not untangling myself from him. Sam, still in wolf form made his way over to Paul, knowing he wouldn't dare take a snap at him, and retrieved Jasper's twitching arm.

"Jay, I love you, but if you ever do that to me again I am going to light you on fire! Got it?" He nodded and winced as Peter sealed his arm. "Now if you'll excuse me I have a wolf to talk to."

After a searing kiss, Jasper reluctantly let me walk toward Paul but I could hear his warning growl loud and clear.

"Paul, I think you should phase back. We need to have a chat." He whimpered and went into the woods. When he came back he was once again human so I grabbed his hand, pulling him further into the woods and out of earshot.

"I'm glad you're okay, Bells." He was the first to break the silence.

"Thanks, Paul. I'm glad to be back home, but we have to have some ground rules. I think you know what I'm going to say."

"Yeah, yeah… no making a chew toy of your new boyfriend. I get it." He sighed dramatically and I bumped shoulders with him.

"If you hadn't been afraid of me imprinting one day do you think we would have…" I stopped walking and looked at him when he stopped talking.

"Maybe. I don't know. I only know that I didn't want to become Leah, and you would have tried your damndest to fight it and made yourself miserable. It wouldn't have been fair to either of us."

"What if I never imprint? Should I be alone forever just waiting? You know we would be good together. You're sweet without taking my shit, and I could keep you from almost killing yourself on a daily basis. Let's not forget how much your dad _loves_ me!" I barked out a laugh.

"Charlie thinks you're a male prostitute with all the women you've been caught with! And the lonely bit… puh-lease. You get more action than anyone I know!"

"Sex isn't the same thing as love, Bells. You know that."

"Love? You?" I scoffed.

"Maybe? I don't know. I just know that when you went missing… Look, you're my best friend, all right? Regardless of anything else… and I was worried sick! Now you come home and you're surrounded by the one thing that I am sworn to be enemies with. Hell, you're even bumping uglies with one of the vile smelling things! What do you expect me to do?" He threw his hands up, exasperated.

"I get that, Paul. I really do. But, seriously? Bumping uglies?" I laughed. "And the v-card is still fully intact, thank you very much, shithead."

"Well, that's good, at least. Could you just tone it down on the lovey dovey shit when I'm around? It sort of makes me want to vomit." He fake gagged and I playfully smacked his arm.

"Sure, if you'll stop trying to rip my man apart."

"Eww, that thing is not a man. Now me, on the other hand, I'm _all_ man." Paul winked and we were back to our normal selves with one another. I just knew that he was going to find someone. If I head to search the world for him I would find a girl that was worthy and that could keep him on his toes.

Jasper was, as usual, pacing back and forth when we emerged from the woods. Paul shook a little when Jasper walked toward us, but just gave me a terse nod and disappeared back into the woods. I knew that he just needed some time to sort through everything so I let him go.

"Everything all right, little girl?" He asked as he sweetly kissed my lips.

"Yeah, it will be fine. Paul was just worried about me and having a hard time with some things, but he'll be all right now."

"Good. And how are you doing with all this?"

"Good. I'm just ready to see my dad!" I was so excited and I knew Jasper could feel it.

"Well, then let's go. I would love to meet your dad."

Danger Will Robinson! An image of my dad attempting to shoot Jasper filled my mind.

"Jay, maybe Carlisle and Esme should take me this time. I told you that we were going to have a little time apart. And my dad is going to be a bit… overprotective for a bit. Let's just handle one thing at a time."

Jasper's breathing increased and I could practically feel the temper tantrum coming on. Thankfully Jake stepped in.

"Charlie has been beside himself and while he is going to want to meet the man that saved his little girl, the fact that you two are involved is going to be difficult for him." Jake chuckled and I scowled as I knew what was coming. "See, uh, he's never actually seen Bella with a real boyfriend, and I think he may think she's a lesbian. He just got used to that idea when Bells went missing and I don't think we should spring too much on him at once."

Everyone within earshot erupted in laughter and the urge to kick Jake in the nuts was strong. Jasper doubled over as he clutched his stomach. Why me being a lesbian was so funny I had no idea, but I was not amused.

"All of you can kiss my ass!" I crossed my arms over my chest and pouted.

"Maybe I should go with you instead," Rosalie winked at me and I smiled despite myself, thinking of how funny that would be.

"Hell yeah!" Emmett pumped his fist in the air and I saw Edward cringe. I could only imagine the images running through Emmett's devious mind.

Jasper stopped laughing and growled at him. Emmett smiled, but raised his hands in surrender.

"Well, can I at least follow you there? I can hang back in the woods or something." Jasper wasn't going to let it go.

"I think you should hunt, Jay. Your arm still hasn't healed all the way. I promise that I'll call you as soon as I can get some time away from Charlie. Hey," I forced him to make eye contact with me "I love you and I'm not going anywhere. My dad lives like six miles from here. If you get worried, just call Carlisle."

I decided that I was going the next morning to replace my cell phone so that Jasper could get in touch with me anytime. Once he was calmed down and Peter convinced him to hunt I was in the back of Carlisle's Mercedes, on my way to see my dad.

I saw the familiar police cruiser in the driveway, and my stomach fluttered with nerves. I had missed my dad, and was truly worried about the kind of reaction he was going to have. He was never a healthy eater, and I could just picture him going into cardiac arrest. I was never more thankful that Carlisle was there.

I knocked on the door, not wanted to freak him out by just walking in. When he answered the door I was surprised to see how my dad had aged in just a short amount of time. There was more gray in his hair and a few more wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. Without saying a word, I flung myself into his arms and was amazed at how tightly he hugged me back. Charlie and I were never what you would call affectionate, so you could imagine how I felt when I looked up to see tears streaming down his face.

"Don't you ever do that to me again! God, I love you Bells! I was worried sick! Where were you? What happened?"

I felt so guilty as he spouted off questions. All that time he was looking for me, panicking, and I was falling in love. As badly as I felt, though, I couldn't take it back because it brought me to Jasper. No, there were no regrets when it came to that.

"I'm sorry, Dad! I was… well.." Lying was never my strong suit. Thank God for Carlisle.

"Chief, Bella was kidnapped. She was unharmed, but some friends of ours found her and took her home with them. When they found out where she was from, the called us. We immediately went to get her and brought her home to you."

Great job, Doc. Such a smooth liar.

"And none of you thought to call the police? I have the FBI working on this!"

"Bella suffered from amnesia for a while." Say What? "And she was with our friends for a time before she ever even remembered who she was. She remembers nothing about her kidnapping, but I checked her out and she is physically fine."

Charlie sighed and looked like he was contemplating everything that he had been told. Did it make sense? No. Could we tell him that I was taken by vampires and had fallen in love with one? Hell no!

"All right, well I'll call my buddy at the FBI and call off the search. I'm just so glad you're safe, Bells." He hugged me again.

"Me too, Daddy." I never, ever, called him that but it seemed to make him happy in that moment.

Once he was satisfied, Carlisle and Esme left and Charlie and I moved to the living room. He chose the couch instead of his old recliner so that he could keep an arm around me. It was the most affectionate I ever remember him being.

"So, these people that saved you? They were good to you?"

"Yes. They, uh… we became really close."

"Uh-huh. And they were females?" He quirked an eyebrow and I fought back a giggle.

"Two males and one female. Peter and Charlotte are married and Jasper is Peter's brother."

"So, uh… did this Jasper… was he a gentleman?"

I couldn't help it! I laughed so hard I almost peed myself. Not only was Charlie asking me about boys, but could you really describe Jasper as a gentleman? I mean, I suppose he was in the sense that he never pushed anything sexually, but he was bossy and… he was just Jasper.

"Yes, Jasper was a complete gentleman."

"Why do I get the feeling that there is more to this story?"_ Oh shit. Think fast, Bella. Lesser of two evils. Just tell Charlie that you and Jasper are involved._

"Well, as Carlisle said, we got very close. And well, Jasper and I are sort of… together." I closed my eyes and waited for the fumes sure to begin shooting out of Charlie's ears.

"Well, then I am assuming that he came with you to Forks?"

Shit, shit, shit!

"Yes." I gulped loudly.

"Then I would like to meet the man who rescued my baby girl."

Dammit to hell!

"Uh, sure. I'll just call him in a few days…"

"What's wrong with now?"

"Dad, he's probably tired! I know that I am." I stretched and gave my best fake yawn.

"You always were a sucky actress, baby girl. Is there a particular reason you don't want me to meet this man of yours?" Charlie quirked an eyebrow and I fought not to growl at him. I had definitely been spending too much time with vampires and wolves.

"No," I said through clenched teeth. Charlie seemed amused by my attitude but before he could goad me any further there was a knock at the front door. Without even opening it, I knew exactly who it was and for some reason had the urge to blame Alice. I rushed to the door, almost tripping over my own feet in order to beat Charlie who was snickering behind me.

"Hey, little girl," Jasper greeted, looking entirely too gorgeous for his own good. And relaxed. The asshole looked relaxed.

"Well, well, well, aren't you going to invite your young man in, Bells?" Charlie's chuckle had been cut off with one look at Jasper and was now in Chief/Father mode. I began to worry for my father's safety. Jasper wasn't known for his ability to be talked down to.

They seemed to regard one another for a moment before Jasper spoke up.

"Hello, sir, I'm Jasper Whitlock. I just thought I'd come by and see how my girl is doing?" He held out his hand and I cringed as Charlie shook it. Like me, he was observant. Jasper just winked at me.

"Well, come on in. Would you like a beer or something?" I almost laughed but Jasper surprised me.

"Why yes, sir, that would be nice of ya'." I thought my eyes were going to bug out of my head.

"You are old enough to dink aren't you son?" Charlie asked as he popped the top off of a Vitamin R.

"Of course, sir." Little did Charlie know that he was old enough to be his great-grandfather.

"So, Jamie, how did you find my daughter?" Charlie smirked as he tilted back his beer bottle. Jasper surprised me by downing half of his in one gulp. That shit tasted like horse piss to me, so I could only imagine how it tasted to him.

"His name is Jasper, Dad, and can we not talk about this? I'm about talked out about it." I interjected, hoping to steer Charlie off course.

"Oops. Honest mistake." There was that damn smirk. _And did he just twitch his mustache?_

"No, it's fine, sweetheart. If you were my daughter I would want to know as well. You see, sir, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I saw some blonde jerk manhandling her and I must have scared him off. She didn't know who she was or how she got there, so I took her home with me."

"And you didn't think to call the cops?"

"Well, sir, she had no memory. I wasn't even sure that it wasn't just a spat between boyfriend and girlfriend. I had no idea she had been kidnapped until she regained her memory. Then we called Carlisle."

Jasper was a cool liar, but I could see what Charlie couldn't. Jasper's posture may have looked relaxed, but I had seen relaxed and that wasn't it. His jaw muscles were clenching as he fought to contain himself. I could only imagine what my father's emotions were at the moment. Dad never had to deal with the "boyfriend" thing apart from Jake, and to him that didn't count. Charlie and Billy had us married off to one another when we were still playing in the mud as kids.

"Well, I'm sure you won't mind telling all this to the FBI when they come for statements, then will you?" My dad may have been a small town cop, but it didn't mean he was stupid. He knew there was more to the story. I just hoped he didn't poke around and get himself killed. Jasper loved me, but he was a bit unstable. And I would have hated to be forced to light the man I loved on fire. I reached out and began tracing my fingers over the miniscule bumps on Jasper's arms where his scars were. I could feel the tension slightly leave his body.

"No, sir, I see no problem with that at all." The air in the room felt so thick it was suffocating me. Thankfully a knock on the door broke it.

"Dad, can you get that?" There was no way I was leaving them in the room alone together.

"Hi, Bella! Hi, Jasper!" Alice floated into the room and I could tell Jasper was fighting not to growl at her as she sat on my other side. He may have been warming up to her, but he still didn't like her too close to me. I hissed at him and he gave me an apologetic look. It was neither the time, nor the place for his possessiveness.

"Hi, Alice!" I was so happy to see her I could have kissed her. Apart from Jasper, Alice could charm the pants off of anyone and I was banking on that to serve as a distraction to Charlie.

"Peter sent me to tell Jasper that they needed him back at the house. He accidentally left his phone at home."

I could practically feel Jasper restraining himself from going all Major, so under the pretense of kissing his cheek I whispered that Alice must have seen something and to calm down. Alice began talking to Charlie at a speed that probably left him dizzy, but he was so in awe of her that I don't think he minded. I took the opportunity to talk to Jasper.

"Jay, just pretend to leave and go around the house. My room is on the second floor. The tree by the house leads right up to it. Just go up there and wait for me. You don't have to leave, okay? Calm down. No one is trying to take me from you."

"Your _father_ doesn't trust me. He doesn't like when I touch you. I'm not giving you up, little girl."

"Jasper, that is my father!" I whisper-yelled. "He is protective of me. You just have to control yourself! If I think for a second that you will hurt my father…"

"Ok, ok, little girl. I'm sorry. I'll control myself, but I'm going to need all your attention upstairs as a distraction." Those words may have seemed playful if they came from anyone other than the Major, because that was who was in control. He meant business, and there was no doubt that he would be marking his territory and showing me who I belonged to.

Now I'm not the type of girl into being dominated, but sometimes you have to pick your battles and letting him rub his scent all over me like a dog pissing on a tree was the least of my worries.

"Okay, baby, just say goodbye and I'll be up as soon as I can."

Jasper was polite as he said goodbye to my dad and Alice left shortly after with a wink in my direction. Charlie very obviously wanted to chat but after a few minutes I expressed how _exhausted_ I was I made my way to my room. Immediately I was pinned to my bed by a black-eyed Major.

"Jasper, can you lock the door before you start this… whatever it is you're about to do?"

"Already done," he growled.

I couldn't speak as he began nipping at the skin along my neck. He was always very careful with his venomous teeth, but I could tell just how badly he wanted to bite; to mark me and fully make me his. And damn if it wasn't hot.

"Kiss me, please," I panted and he obliged. There was nothing gentle or sweet about it. He was rubbing his body all over mine as he dominated the kiss. When I needed to breathe he pulled away.

"Who do you belong to?" He growled.

"You, Jasper. You know that." I traced my favorite scar but his eyes did not change.

"Do I know that? I don't think so. I have let you get away with a lot, little girl, because of my love for you, but sometimes I just want to… do things… to show you that you are mine. I am sick of you doubting that we are meant for one another. I am sick of you pushing me at Alice. And now your father is going to try and convince you to leave me. That is not going to happen, do you understand?"

I laid there like a lump of coal, frozen. Jasper had never spoken to me that way and I had no idea what to do or say in response.

"I said, do you understand?" He asked again as he ground himself into me. I bit my lip to stop from crying out because he was hitting just the right spot.

"Yes," I whispered. "I understand."

"You are my mate. Not. Alice. Do you understand?" With every word he would hit that spot and I felt like I was going to explode at any moment. I don't even think I was aware of what I was agreeing to.

"Yes. I'm yours." His movements stopped.

"Look at me," he commanded and I complied.

"You are my mate. Never question me on that again. I love you and will protect you until I am turned to ash. I will kill to keep you and soon I will claim you in every way and you will be mine. In. Every. Way. You will be like me. Do you understand?"

Holy. Shit.

Yep, I went blank for a good ten minutes. Jasper never moved. He was still as a statue as he stared down at me. Finally I gulped in a lungful of air and answered.

"I understand. Now can you go back to that grinding thing you were doing?"

His eyes returned to the amber I had gotten used to and he was Jasper again.

**So, the tides have shifted and Bella has been officially put in her place. Things are gonna' be changing, so maybe you guys will hate Bella a little less now that she has accepted him.**


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Not me.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, added, favorite! You guys are awesome! And an extra special thanks to Nostalgicmiss for sharing my brain and being my personal cheerleader! Love ya'!**

**For my Retribution readers: I am not giving up the story. I have written and re-written the next chapter several times and to put it simply it has sucked. I am stuck, but still working on it. I promise that it will be completed, but I don't want to put out a crappy chapter just for the sake of posting either, so hang in there!**

**Chapter 10**

**BPOV**

Jasper made sure to take his time teasing me. He wasn't sure that we could go all the way without him biting me, but damn if he didn't do everything but. It seemed as though my acceptance lifted some invisible weight off his shoulders, and I couldn't deny that it did the same for me. No more worrying about where I belonged. I belonged with Jasper and our little family. I loved the pack, and my dad, but Jasper would always be more important.

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and more than satisfied with the gorgeous man who was smirking at me from where he lay next to me.

"Morning, little girl. Did you have pleasant dreams?"

"I think you know just how pleasant my dreams were, Major." He growled and I knew that he loved when I called him that.

"And how are you feeling about everything? Do you still promise to agree to all the same things in the light of day?" He quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Yes, Major." He liked me feisty, but I could tell that a submissive Bella got him all hot under the collar. I kept my head lowered but took a peek at him from under my lashes.

"Good girl." His voice took on a husky quality and I wanted him to take me right then, but he had other plans.

"Now, little girl, I believe as your man I should make a proper appearance and be at your side while you are dealing with the FBI. So, as much as it pains me, I am going to the Cullens' house to change and I will be right back. You should have a chat with your father and prepare him a little. He isn't quite as all over the place, emotion-wise, this morning."

I pouted, wanting to spend the day in bed with him. I couldn't wait until the day when we could do just that, with no one to stop us.

"Don't worry, there will be plenty of time for that once all this has been dealt with. Your father does have a job, does he not? Once he goes back to work we will have the place all to ourselves." He nipped at my neck and ran a finger down my chest to emphasize his point.

"But I'm ready now," I whined like the little hussy he had turned me into.

He laughed and with a quick kiss and a tender "I love you" he was out the window.

I begrudgingly walked down the stairs and was met with Charlie, who was making an attempt at cooking breakfast.

"Morning, Bells. How did you sleep?" I choked back a giggle and answered with a simple "fine".

"Dad, I want to talk to you about something."

His mouth twitched, hiding his smirk behind his mustache.

"And what would that be, Bells?"

"You know exactly what, old man! I love Jasper. There, I said it. I plan on having a life with him and I would love it if you would at least attempt to be nice and trust my judgment." I tried to sound firm but from the smirk on his face I could tell that I didn't succeed.

"I will be nice. It's not as if I don't like the kid. I just wouldn't be doing my fatherly duty if I didn't give him a hard time. I'm not gonna' lie to you and tell you that I completely believe this story that you and the Cullens came up with, but I trust you, kid, so I'm going along with it." I blanched, having no idea what to say. Charlie knew something was up, and if I was honest, I knew he would. I didn't get my observant nature from my mother, that was for sure. At least I could rest easy in the fact that he was going with it.

We finished breakfast and talked a little about what the feds were going to want to know. He talked to his buddy and Charlie told me they would be there in a couple of hours. It was good to be home, but I was already missing Jasper. Since the previous night, when I had finally let everything go and decided to just feel what I was feeling, I didn't want to be away from him. It physically hurt.

I tried to distract myself with cleaning, and then taking a long shower, but when the water ran cold it only made me think of Jasper more. When he finally got there, I flew into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. I didn't care that Peter and Char were standing behind him, or the fact that my dad was watching from his recliner; I just wanted to be wrapped up in Jasper and nothing else mattered.

"If this is what happens when I leave, I'll have to do it more often." Jasper chuckled but didn't even bother putting me down. He simply walked into the house with me attached to him.

"This is definitely different. Maybe Jasper should have gone all Dom on you earlier." Peter whispered and with a wink walked over to meet my dad.

"I love you," I whispered as I kissed him deeply.

"Mmm, I love hearing you say that. And I love you too, little girl." A cough from my father and a giggle from Charlotte caused me to scowl.

"I would shake your hand, sir, but apparently your daughter has turned into a monkey." Jasper joked causing Charlie to chuckle.

"No problem, kid. It's good to see Bells so happy." Charlie's smile was genuine and I knew that everything would be all right.

The FBI showed up and we went through the story we had prepared. Jasper, Peter, and Char found me struggling with a blonde man outside a bar in Phoenix. They rescued me, but I had no memory of who I even was. They gave specific dates and times, but knew that nothing would come of the investigation. The investigator didn't seem satisfied, but with so many people claiming the same story to be true there wasn't much he could do. They would investigate, but we all knew that nothing would come of it. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was over.

"Well, I'm heading to the station for a bit. You kids behave." Charlie winked and was out the door.

As soon as his car was gone I was ready to push Peter and Char out, but Peter seemed to sense it and fell back on the couch, turning on the TV. I was ready to set him on fire.

"Pete, I love ya', but you gotta' go." I unplugged the TV and walked over to the front door, opening it. Charlotte giggled but Peter didn't budge. Even Jasper was laughing. I was getting pissed.

"Jay, why don't you go all Major and get your _brother_ out of here. I think you promised me some quality time." I glared at him, but he didn't even seem fazed.

"Well, I did, but I think maybe we should spend some time with the rest of the Whitlocks. Maybe if you asked real nice, darlin'." That southern drawl was almost enough to light my panties on fire.

"Major," I purred, looking up at him with my sweetest expression. I could see his eyes darkening and he instinctively licked his lips. "Will you _please_ let me show you just how much I love you?"

I ran my finger down his chest and over his stomach. Our little romp the night before had made me bold.

"Out," he ordered and Peter and Char both left quickly, chucking the entire way out the door.

"You're playing with fire, little girl. I'm not sure I can do any more than what we did last night." His words said one thing, but his emotions were saying another. His desire for me was rolling off of him and I thought I would buckle from the weight of it.

"Please, Jay. I want to be yours. You can't bite me yet, but I can belong to you in every other way. Only you." His eyes became pitch black before he swiftly carried me up the stairs to my room.

He stood stock still as I slowly unbuttoned his shirt, trailing kisses down his chest. I lovingly kissed every scar I could see once his shirt was fully gone. I had a feeling that the Major would have issues with not being in control and I was proved right when he ripped my shirt open and laid me on the bed; possessive yet gentle.

He took his time with me as he grazed his tongue along every plane of my body. When he removed my pants and nuzzled himself between my legs I came undone quickly, gripping his hair tightly.

"Jay, please. I want you inside me. I can't take not feeling you." His eyes met mine and he growled, low and long, but it was not a frightening growl. He was battling with himself to be what I needed, and I loved him for it.

"You can do this, baby. You won't hurt me. You said yourself a vampire could never hurt their mate." I traced his beautiful scarred face and he smiled at me.

With his pants suddenly gone he slid in between my legs, his hardness pressing right against my entrance. Cool against my heat. He slowly entered, inch by inch. My walls stretched and while it wasn't comfortable, it wasn't as painful as I thought. Of course, it could have to do with all the love and lust that were rolling off my man and seeping into my every pore.

Once he was fully sheathed inside me he gave me a moment to get used to the intrusion before hitting me so hard with a dose of pleasure that I thought I would pass out. I shifted my hips instinctually causing him to bite his own arm in an effort to keep his venomous teeth away from me. In that moment I wanted him to bite me, claim me, mark me. If it weren't for my father I would have begged him for it.

"Soon, Jay. Soon it will be me that those teeth will be sinking into. Your venom flowing through my veins." I moved my hips in time with my words and before long Jasper was moving with me.

His lips were moving too fast for me to hear exactly what he was saying, but his head was thrown back in sheer ecstasy. I loved making him feel that way. I ignored any feeling of soreness and focused on feeling just how much I loved him.

"Open your eyes," he ordered. Brown met black as he stared at me. My body shook from the intensity of my emotions mingling with his. When he finally climaxed I felt it, causing me to fall over the edge with him.

"Thank you," I whispered to which he looked at me, his eyes questioning my meaning.

"For not giving up. I have been such a bitch to you. I was scared, but I should have trusted in you and what I felt for you. Just… thank you for taking control of the situation." I felt the blush rising to my cheeks and he stroked my cheek.

"I admit that you were a bit difficult, for lack of a better word. I just hope that you've gotten it through your thick skull that we belong together. No more worrying about shit that doesn't matter. From here on out it's all about trusting me to love you and take care of you. In return, I promise not to kill anyone that doesn't deserve it."

I couldn't help but giggle at his wording. In Jasper's mind, anyone who looked at me was deserving of being ripped apart.

"I love you, Jasper." He smiled down at me.

"I love you too, little girl. So much. Now, I want you to promise me that there will be no more questioning me about my feelings for you."

"I promise." I punctuated my promise with a kiss. "If you promise that we can have a repeat of earlier."

"Darlin' we can repeat that as much as you want, but how about we get you cleaned up first?"

After a long bath we ended up relaxing on the couch until the front door flew open.

"Holy shit! You totally did it!" Ness squealed and Jake winced as they walked in the house like they owned the place.

"Uh, hi guys." I waved shyly.

"Ugh, it smells like sex in here!" Jake scrunched up his nose causing Jasper to laugh. Me? I threw the remote at his hard head.

"Okay, we need girl time! Bella you have to tell me EVERYTHING!" She sat down on my other side and glared at Jasper who didn't seem the slighted bit fazed.

"That means you, cowboy. Shoo! I need all the details and she won't talk with you sitting right there." Jasper laughed at her, the sound was music to my ears. He looked to Jake who just shrugged as if to say "just do as she says".

"All right, little girl. Jake and I are going to go… talk about manly things. You two have fun painting your toenails or whatever it is you women do. Love you." He kissed my forehead and walked out the door.

"Love you too! Don't kill anyone I actually like!" I called.

Jake leaned down to kiss Ness and after a distracted peck she waved him off.

"All right, girlie; spill."

**JPOV**

"So, you and Bells are pretty serious, huh?" Jake asked, his eyes searching mine. He was feeling protective of Bella and while it was annoying I was pleased that she had so many people that cared about her well-being.

We had made so much progress since I laid down the law, and we were both benefiting from it.

"Ew! Are you thinking about having sex with Bella? Stop!" Jake covered his eyes like it would shield him from knowing exactly what I was thinking.

"Hey, I can't help it if it's on a constant loop in my mind." I shrugged.

"Gross! She's like my little sister!" He shoved me and I chuckled. Once you got past his stench he wasn't bad at all. And his little woman was full of piss and vinegar. I hated that Bella would have to say goodbye to them.

"I'm glad that she's always had you. I hope that you and I can continue to get along for her. Now, your little pack-mate, Paul? I would like to throw him in front of a moving train."

"Yeah, Paul can be a bit of a handful. Bella was always good for him, but she never felt anything like that for him. You're the first guy I've ever even seen her look twice at. She's a good girl and you're lucky to have her. I know that she can be difficult at times, but I think she's worth it." Jake looked me in the eyes to show that he meant every word.

We walked in silence for a ways until I decided to ask about the nomads he had mentioned.

"So, you said something about Bella attracting nomads?"

"Yeah. Apparently she smells really good to your kind. There were three of them. It took us a good 6 months to get all three, but they were persistent. The leader, a blonde male, we caught as he was getting ready to jump into her window. Paul got him just in time. After that, his mate was relentless. She kept us on her toes. The other male was fairly easy, but that red-headed bitch was a handful. We didn't want to freak Bella out so we never told her, but she came close to dying several times." Jake visibly shuddered at the thought and I fought to control myself. Even though they were all dead, it didn't stop me from wanting to kill them all over again.

And damn, I was indebted to Paul the Wonderdog for saving my mate. Damn.

"Have there been any problems since?"

"Not until you came across her. Look, I know there's more to the story, but I trust Bells and she trusts you. If she doesn't want to tell me then there must be a good reason. Now, I feel obligated to give you the usual big brother speech so let's go ahead and get it over with." He cleared his throat. "If you hurt her in any way I will be forced to rip you apart." He stood looking only slightly serious.

"That's it?" I laughed and he chuckled a little.

"Well, if mating for vampires is anything like imprinting is for us, then I know you couldn't hurt her if you tried. Not really, anyway. I can't say I'm thrilled that my best friend is paired up with one of the undead, but you seem okay, and definitely more capable of dealing with her than the prissy one that wants her."

I laughed when I realized that he was talking about Edward.

"He couldn't handle a girl like Bells who has a mind of her own. She needs someone who will fight back… and who will fight for her. I have a feeling that you would kill anyone who even thought about coming between the two of you, and that's what she needs. Bella has never really seen herself clearly. I blame it on her mom for treating her like an adult instead of a child. Nomatter what Bella did, she was never enough to fully hold Renee's attention. As you can see, she's been called and told that Bella was found, but she's too busy being on the road with her baseball playing husband." Jake rolled his eyes as he spoke. That little piece of insight was just another piece of the puzzle that was Bella.

No wonder the girl couldn't believe I wanted her. She had never felt like she was enough for her own mother, how could she be enough to hold my attention. I suddenly wanted to run back to her and show her just how I felt, but I knew that she needed the time with Ness to sort through everything.

"Damn. That explains a lot." Jake nodded and we walked in silence for a bit longer.

"Jake!" One of the younger pack members came bursting through the woods.

"What's wrong, Seth?" He asked, his eyes wide.

"Leech. None of us has ever smelled the scent before."

"The girls?" Jake asked and I immediately went into Major mode and ran straight for my mate.

"What is it? What's the matter?" Bella wrapped her arms around me as soon as I was in front of her. Jake came bursting through the door and wrapped Ness in his arms.

Peter and Char flew into the house like the hounds of hell were behind them. Panic rolled off their bodies. Then Peter uttered the one name that I thought I would never have to hear again.

"Maria."

**Dun-Dun-DUUUUN! *cue cheesy shocked music* So, what do you guys think? I know that the FBI thing was a bit short, but it really doesn't have anything to do with the story and with the shit that is about to hit the fan.**

**I also want to address the fact that some are worried that Bella is not going to be her usual self (a snarky bitch… lol). Just because she has given in to her feelings for Jasper and the fact that he's her mate, it hasn't changed who she is. She will still be giving everyone hell. But she does realize that her submissive side gets the Major all hot and bothered so she will use that to her advantage. I understand that I can't please everyone and I apologize for that, but please stop calling the story bullshit. It's not nice!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters. Sadly, that honor goes to Stephenie Meyer. Why, oh why didn't I have a dream about a sparkling vampire first?**

**To all my readers and reviewers, thank you! You guys are the absolute best! I tried to respond to every review, so if I somehow missed yours I apologize. Special thanks to Nostalgicmiss for being her awesome self and always pushing me when I need it! You're the best!**

**Chapter 11**

**JPOV**

Maria.

Maria.

Maria.

The name that I avoided even thinking about was running through my mind and sending me into a tailspin of tangled emotions.

"Jay? Sweetheart? You're sort of freaking me out." My beautiful Bella was still wrapped around me, lightly tracing the scars on my neck.

"Are you sure, Peter?" I knew better than to question him, but it was so unbelievable that I had to ask.

"Yes, Major. You know what this means."

"She's come for me. I always knew that she would." I wasn't afraid of the spiteful bitch. I was only afraid of what she would do to Bella if given the chance.

"Wait… Maria? As in the bitch that caused all of this?" Bella's anger spiked as she pointed at my scars. I nodded and she turned to Jake. "You still have that blowtorch in your garage?"

My little girl was boiling over with rage and protectiveness. She knew just how strong vampires were and yet she was ready to take Maria on for me.

"That won't be necessary, Darlin'," Peter smiled indulgently at her. "We never should have let her live in the first place, but we did, and now we will take care of her."

"You don't have to go back to that, Jay." Fear rolled off of her. I knew that she was terrified of what being exposed to Maria could mean for me, but I had to face my past.

"I'm not going to go back to that, little girl, but I do have to face this. Don't you worry yourself about us. We'll be fine. I just want you to be safe. You need to stay with one of us, the Cullens, or the wolves at all times. I don't want her using you to get to me." I tried to convey with my eyes just how important it was for her to listen to what I was telling her.

"Baby, I don't want you anywhere near her!" She cried, fisting my shirt in her small hands.

"I told you that I'll be fine. Don't forget that I _am_ the God of War." I winked at her hoping to lighten her mood.

"She doesn't stand a chance, princess." Peter assured her and Charlotte agreed.

"Pete, you better take care of him, or I'll be after you with that blowtorch."

"I hate to break this up, but I need to know what's going on here." Jake stepped forward, his arms still around his pregnant wife.

So I explained my sordid past to Jake, who shuddered at the thought of vampires who would war with each other for nothing more than territory to feed. My poor little girl cringed throughout the retelling of my story.

"Okay, so I get why that crazy bitch would come after you, but my question is why now? And how did she find you?" His questions were completely valid, and I had my suspicions, but I wasn't sure whether or not I was correct in my assumptions so I simply shrugged.

"When the Volturi became aware of the wars it became necessary for Maria to go into hiding. She killed off most of what was left of her army, only keeping her most trusted soldiers alive. Technology has made it much simpler for the Volturi to keep track of the goings on in our world, so building back her army had to have taken time. I suspect that she has either come to entice me back, or to kill me, either way, I am looking at a fight. Peter, you and Char should get the fuck outta dodge. She'll want you too. I can lead her away, but I need Bella protected at all costs."

"NO!" Bella screeched and with a cringe, I ignored her.

"Major, we won't leave you to deal with this alone. You put your ass on the line for us all those years ago, and we've lived a long and happy life together. It's time to repay the favor." Peter clapped me on the back and sent a wave of brotherly love at me. Charlotte nodded to let me know that she agree with Pete.

"No one is going anywhere without me! Jasper Whitlock, if you think for one second that I am letting you run off and get yourself killed then you have subscribed to a whole new brand of crazy. Change me! Change me and I can help!"

"Little girl," I cooed at her, "everything is gonna' be just fine. I didn't get my name by letting some bitch get the best of me. I only worry that she will get to you. Use you to get to me. As long as you are safe I can take her down. No problems."

It was only a small lie. I knew the risks by taking her on without knowing exactly what her numbers were, but my chances of surviving were even more slim if I was constantly worrying about Bella's safety.

"We should talk to the Cullens," Jake suggested and I agreed. He strode over to the phone and barked out orders for a few of the pack to make their way to the Cullens' place, while making sure the rest were posted around the rez, standing guard.

"I'm coming with you!" Bella shouted, tears streaming down her beautiful face.

"Shh, little girl. Of course you're coming. You're going to be all right. We won't let anything happen to you."

I almost laughed when she slapped my hand away from her cheek. "I'm not worried about me, you jackass! My damn mate wanting to go off half-cocked and get himself killed is what's freaking me the hell out!"

"Now, sugar, you know better than to worry about this bastard. He's tough as nails." Charlotte, bless her heart, was making an effort at calming her, but coming from the waves of worry, anger, and determination Bella was putting off, she wasn't doing much good.

"You can all patronize me later. Right now, we need to get to the Cullens." Bella furiously wiped away her tears and marched out to Peter's truck.

When we reached the Cullens it was no surprise when Edward bounded out of the house, full of worry and asking a shit-ton of questions. He was joined by the rest, who were all equally worried. Carlisle, always the peacekeeper wanted to call up his Volturi friends and alert them to the problem, but that would put Bella in danger, as well as the rest of us for her knowledge. Emmett, wanted to simply barrel in, guns blazing (so to speak) and just take them all out. I explained to them that it was not their fight, but they were determined to help.

"Dammit! If only I could get my damn visions to work! Now that we've involved ourselves in the pack, I can't see anything at all!" Little Alice tugged at her hair in frustration. Bella immediately went to her side.

"Hey, at least you can fight. I'm just a worthless little human," Bella joked, causing Alice to giggle a little.

"Thanks, Bella. I needed that."

"Enough with this. We need a strategy, but first, we need to find out how she knows where you are, and what she knows, if anything about us and the pack." Edward spoke up and for once I was thankful for his over-thinking.

"Yeah, I mean, why not come after you when you were in Arizona, out in the middle of nowhere? If she could find you here, why didn't she find you there?" Emmett's question was definitely a prudent one. Maria never did anything without thinking it through and getting to me in a remote area would be much better for her. A low profile was a necessity in her line "work".

"Unless she wants the Cullens as well. Maybe she knew where you were the whole time, then the Cullens show up and she wants them too. I mean, Edward and Alice's powers… for someone who craves power the way she does, they would be obvious choices." We all looked at Bella, stunned by her analytical thinking.

"What? I'm more than just a pretty face, you know? And if one of you would change me, I could be more than that. Think about it, as a human Edward can't read my mind, and I can shield my emotions from you…" She kept speaking, but I tuned her out. One word ran through my mind. Shield.

"You're a shield. Shit! Fuck!" Everyone looked at me as if I had lost my damn mind. Maria could have gotten to me at any time. If she had a spy watching me, then she would definitely know about Bella. But how would we have not smelled them…

"Peter! It's Jeb! She sent fucking Jeb! There's no tellin' how long she's been watching! The fucking bitch wants Bella!"

"Hold up, Major! Slow down, even I'm havin' a hard time followin' ya'." Peter held his hands up to stop my pacing.

"Jeb has no damn scent! She's probably had him watching us all along. Then Bella comes along and she sees a weakness. Of course, the Cullens just make things more interesting, but if Jeb was close enough then he would know that Edward couldn't read Bella. There has never been a human shield to my knowledge and if she's this powerful now…"

"She would be a damn powerful vampire." Peter finished.

"See, then change me! I can fight the bitch! I could protect people! Isn't that what a shield does?" Bella piped up, excitement pouring from her at the thought of being useful.

"We cannot change you. We have a treaty with the wolves. And the change takes at least three days. We have no way of knowing when she will strike." Carlisle explained to Bella calmly.

"Yeah, Bells, I really don't want you changed anyway." Jake added.

"Jake, my mate is a vampire, do you really expect me to stay human? Come on! And the treaty doesn't apply to Whitlocks, does it?"

"There is no time!" I tugged at my hair in frustration. I did not want my little girl to be changed that way. I did not want her thrust into a world of war and violence as I was.

"First things first, you say this leech has no scent? How are we supposed to find him? Hell, he could be within hearing range right now." Paul spoke up, looking to be on pins and needles.

"You're right. Peter, I think it's time to call in a favor." I looked at him and he immediately pulled out his cell phone.

"We will make some calls as well. We need numbers and quick. The Denali's can help." Carlisle went to work on making that call.

"Little girl, I know you're not going to like this, but I need you to go with Paul to the rez. I trust him to protect you." He nodded in my direction, telling me that he would. I knew that she would protest and immediately cut her off with a kiss before thrusting her at Paul. "Take her and don't let her out of your sight. If she gets harmed I will kill you myself."

"I'll protect her with my life," he assured me before throwing her over his shoulder. She kicked and screamed; at him and at me. Jake assured us that the rez would be well protected and to let him know if we needed anything.

"Wait!" I called as Paul began to walk away with Bella. I crouched down and lifted her face to look at me. I was met with tear-stained cheeks and a heartbreaking expression. "I love you, Bella. When this is over, I plan on spending forever showing you just how much. I need you to trust me and I need you safe. Please just do this for me?"

"Jay, I love you! So much! I just have a bad feeling! We shouldn't be apart! Don't send me away!" She pleaded with me and for once, I wished Alice's crazy visions weren't on the fritz so I knew if Bella was right. "I need you!" She cried in a final attempt. Paul knowingly placed her on her feet and she wrapped her tiny body around me.

The room filled with her sobs and pleas. The house quickly emptied to give us the illusion of privacy.

"Little girl, I can't put you in danger. You mean too much to me. I need you alive and safe so that I can concentrate on killing the crazy bitch. Just do this for me."

"Jasper, why can't you understand that I can't be away from you? We are stronger together. Wouldn't you rather keep an eye on me yourself? If you can't see me, how will you know if I am even safe?" The little minx was not playing fair.

"Isabella, I know that because of Paul's feelings for you he will keep you safe. And I trust that Jacob will as well. I would never leave you otherwise."

"But if she really wants me, then I would be putting Ness and the pack in danger. I can't do that! And my dad! Shit! Who is going to protect him? No! We need to leave here and leave together!" She was back to pleading.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, little girl. I'm sure Jake will figure something out about your dad to keep him safe. It will all work out. I just need you to trust me."

"I do trust you, Major, it's Maria and her army of the undead that I don't trust." I hugged her close and tenderly kissed her soft lips.

"Major, I'm sorry to break this up, but Garrett is on his way. Luckily he happened to be close, within running distance. He'll be here within the hour. We need to strategize." Peter gave Bella an apologetic glance.

"Please," she whispered and I simply shook my head. "Fine! But you better come back to me! If you don't I will find a way to torch the bitch myself!"

My beautiful, furious girl. I had no doubt that she would do just that. In fact, I decided then to warn paul that she would probably try to escape him.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too. I'll see you soon." She nodded and with one final peck she walked out the door.

"She's not gonna' stand by while we all fight, Major," Peter warned.

"I know," I sighed.

"Might as well change her now."

"That one of your _feelings_, Pete?" I asked.

"Common sense. My feelings are a bit all over the place at the moment. Too much going on. I'm working to pin them down though." He winked at me and we immediately went to work on coming up with a plan. Once Garrett arrived we filled him in and with his gift he decided that he would take Emmett to find Jeb. Garrett was persuasive, but while most thought that was his gift, it wasn't. He could sense vampires within a ten mile radius. He informed us that apart from us, he only felt one at that time. He was like a vampire GPS and with Emmett and Rosalie in tow, he was off.

It only took them a half hour to locate Jeb and bring him back. He had relied far too heavily on his lack of scent and that made him an easy capture.

"Edward?" I asked once we had Jeb completely subdued.

"He won't think of Maria's location, but she has brought at least fifteen newborns with her. More are standing by in Oregon. He is to report to her with an update within the hour. If he does not then she will strike. That is all he knows… wait, he knows the location of the rest of her army. They're about fifty miles east of Albuquerque, New Mexico."

"I'll call the Volturi with the information. I will tell Aro that we came across a nomad and Edward read it in his mind. With them out of the way, we will have one less worry." I nodded my agreement to Carlisle before turning back to Jeb.

"And what of my mate?" I asked him.

"She initially wanted to use her for bait, but once she found out that he couldn't read her mind she decided that she wanted you both. She won't stop." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Does she know about the wolves?" I asked.

"Yes," Edward answered for him. "Jeb has filled her in on everything." Then he gasped.

"What?"

"She has Bella's father. She's going to use him as bait."

"Fuck!" I swore. If Bella found that out, she would never stay put.

"How long until she attacks?" I yelled at Jeb.

"If I do not report back, she intends to use the father to draw out your mate, and in turn you."

I immediately picked up my cell phone and dialed the number that Jake had given me. After telling him to stay calm, I informed him of what we had learned. Unfortunately, Bella hit the speaker phone button and heard Charlie's name. She wailed and I heard Paul trying to comfort her. It was no use, my little girl was determined.

"Jasper, either you come and get me right now, or I find that bitch on my own. My dad will not die! Do you hear me?" I instructed Jake to have Paul bring her back and when my girl arrived I'd be damned if she wasn't carrying a can of gasoline and a blowtorch.

"Where is the bitch?" She stood over Jeb, showing no fear. When he did not answer, she opened the can and poured gasoline directly over his dick. Still no answer.

"Fine, fucker. We'll do it the hard way." Out of her bag she pulled a pair of tinted goggles and slipped them on. Then came the clicking on of the torch.

"I'm gonna' ask you one. More. Time. Where is the bitch?" She gritted her teeth and in that moment I saw just why she was my mate. She was beautiful in her fury. Edward shook his head to let Bella know that his thoughts were not revealing anything. Hell, the fucker probably couldn't focus on anything but the proximity of the flame to his sparkly dick.

"All righty then," she shrugged and his screams filled the air as the flame met the gasoline. She had been sparse with the fuel and the fire stayed local to the area of his dick, as no venom was exposed to ignite him further.

"Seattle! She's in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city! Now put it out!" He screamed. My mate simply cocked her head like a confused puppy.

"Well, it's an awfully big city. I think we'll need a little more than that." She smirked and Edward spoke up telling her that he got the location. She turned off the torch and removed her goggles before slowly pulling out a fire extinguisher and putting out his flaming peen.

Jeb looked down at his dick and sobbed. He could have healed with blood, but there was no way he was going to be allowed to live. I nodded to Peter who, with Emmett, drug Jeb away to dispose of his sorry ass. We had all the information that we needed.

"Now, when are we going to get my dad?" Bella asked, hands on her hips.

"Bells, he's probably already gone. Leeches aren't known for keeping humans alive." Paul spoke up and I could have kicked his ass, but Bella needed to know that the possibility of her father being alive was slim to none.

"I don't give a fuck! It's my fault he's in this situation to begin with! I am not just going to leave him there!" She began crying and I wrapped my arms around her. The fierce woman from earlier had disappeared and in her place was a broken girl who was scared for her daddy.

"Shh, little girl. I'll go and get your daddy." I tried to soothe her, but it only served to piss her off.

"You mean _we're_ going to get him! You are not leaving me here! She knows about the pack and I refuse to put anyone else in danger! Either you let me go willingly or I will find a way to go myself. Do. Not. Underestimate. Me."

Now, I was always a man who liked to be in control, but I knew in that moment that she meant exactly what she said.

"Fine, but you do everything I tell you to do. No questions asked. I am the boss in this situation, got it?"

She nodded at me.

"I'm going too." Paul piped up. I probably should have told him no, but there was no way he would have listened. His head was as hard as a box of rocks.

So, we sat down and formed a plan. Vehicles would not allow us an element of surprise, so it had been decided that we would run. Edward would carry Bella as he was the fastest runner, and would be surrounded by me, Peter, Char, and Garrett. Jacob pitched a fit to join us, but Bella convinced him that he had to stay and protect Ness. As Paul and Embry were the only wolves without imprints, they were allowed to accompany us, and would serve as Bella's personal guard, as I would more than likely be occupied. All of our roles had been laid out and specified. Once we hit Seattle, Peter and Char fed from our normal diet of rapists and murderers, wanting their full strength and the rest of us fed in the woods on the outskirts of the city.

As the warehouse came into view, I expected Bella's heart rate to increase, but she was surprisingly calm. Her strength under pressure astounded me and I was in awe of her. Edward sent me a strong dose of agreement.

Before there was time to blink Edward had Bella on the ground and she was being flanked by the two giant wolves.

"They know we're here," Edward stated and we all crouched, ready for battle. Our numbers alone made the first wave of her troops easy to dispose of. Unfortunately her reinforcements from Portland had already arrived.

"Maria!" I bellowed as I ripped the head off of another of her soldiers.

In a second, the warehouse door was flung open, and there she stood, her hand tangled in a bloody Charlie Swan's hair.

**So, there you have it. Looks like the fun is about to begin! What did you guys think of Bella and her torch? See, I told you some lovin' didn't turn her into a wimp. **


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: You all know that I'm not Stephenie Meyer, nor do I own Twilight.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, guys! You all blew me away! I tried to respond to every review, so if I didn't get to you I'm sorry. Also, big thanks to all those who alerted, favorite, or simply read.**

**So, this will be the last chapter. Yeah, so I'm just going to shut up and let you read. **

**Chapter 12**

**JPOV**

"Daddy!" Bella cried as she broke through her temporarily distracted guards. I was too tied up in battle to stop her, as was the rest of our group. Fortunately, Paul and Embry were hot on her heels, ripping apart any vampire that came near her. Above all the emotions running, I could feel her anger… her sheer determination.

Charlie cried out as Maria broke his wrist, all the while grinning at Bella.

"You wanted me, you fucking bitch? Well, now you got me! So let him go!" Bella screamed.

I could hear Charlie warning her to stay back, but she was on a mission. As the wolves teeth tore through granite flesh, Bella went about igniting their venom with her torch. Maria watched in awe as Bella seemed completely unfazed by the fighting surrounding her. Her entire focus was centered on her father. Occasionally she would glance back at me when she had a moment.

I was fighting with all I had to get through the throngs of newborns. The screeching sounds of ripping flesh mingled with those of the thunderous clashing of our bodies. A loud wail alerted me to Alice who had been successfully fighting behind me. A tall male had sunk his teeth into her neck and was going for the kill. I immediately pulled him off and wrenched his head from his shoulders. She gave me a quick "thank you" before throwing herself back into battle.

My momentary distraction caused me to lose sight of Bella. Maria was no longer standing in the doorway of the warehouse, and my little girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Edward!" I shouted and he glanced up from the decapitated newborn he was holding. "Is anyone thinking of Bella?"

He seemed to focus for a moment.

"She's inside with Maria! We have to get in there, Jasper!" From the panic that he was feeling I knew that there wasn't much time.

I fought with the strength of ten vampires, using my gift to subdue several at once, giving us a much larger advantage. I was consumed with rage at the mere thought of anyone harming my mate. Edward and Alice flanked me as we pushed our way through the battle. Finally, after what felt like forever we reached the doors to the warehouse. I saw Bella and Embry, but Paul was surprisingly not by her side. I searched the room and saw him in front of a petite woman, his teeth bared. He was protecting her. The feelings coming off of him told me that he found his mate and was guarding her with his life.

Bella stood in front of Maria, just waiting for the chance to light her ass up, but Maria was keeping Charlie firmly in her grasp and Bella would take no chances with the life of her father.

"You listen here, you crazy bitch, he has nothing to do with this and I've had just about enough of this shit! Now let him go!" I could feel that Maria knew she was done for, but there was no way that she was going down alone. Her eyes flitted to mine and a wry smile crossed her lips.

"Ah, Major, so nice of you to join the party." Her thick Spanish accent rolled off her tongue. The same voice that used to cause me to want to rip her clothes off in heated passion made me want to tear her apart. She was taunting me.

Charlie's heartbeat was slowing and when he coughed, blood sputtered from his mouth.

"Daddy!" Bella cried. "Jasper, save him!"

"Love… you, Bells." Charlie's coughing increased and it was all the distraction that Maria needed. She threw Charlie to the ground and lunged for Bella. None of us were quick enough to stop her as her body made contact, causing Bella to fall to the ground. In a blur, Peter and Charlotte entered the fray and were on her. Unfortunately, two more of her men joined in, but my focus was on Bella. She assured me that she was fine and pleaded with me to save her father.

"I'll have to change him. He won't make it otherwise."

"Do it! Just save him!" With a nod, I descended on him, leaving Edward and Alice to guard her. I immediately sank my teeth into his neck and his warm blood flowed down my throat. For a moment, he wasn't my mate's father. He was food. I drank greedily until I was forcibly removed by a little pixie. Alice. That was her name. I growled at her for interrupting my meal.

"Major, this is Bella's father. If you kill him she will never forgive you. Look at your mate, Major!" She commanded with as much authority as her tiny body possessed. I looked and all of a sudden, everything was back in focus.

"Alice. I need you to finish." I crawled over to Bella who was sobbing on the cold, dirty floor. I could hear Alice speaking to Charlie in hushed tones telling him that he would be all right. She bit his wrists and ankles, pushing in as much venom as she could. Charlie's heart began racing as he cried out from the burn of the venom.

"Daddy," Bella croaked as she crawled over next to him. She had barely reached his side when Maria broke free from her battle and lunged in our direction. Before I could react, she had ripped Alice's head from her shoulders and tossed it across the room. I felt for her, but my first reaction was to stand in front of Bella. Charlie's blood had made me stronger; replenished me from my earlier battles. I could imagine my eyes, a bright feral red as I glared down at the bitch who brought me into the vampire world.

"Finish her," Bella whispered, her words slightly garbled. So I did. I would have loved to take my time and torture her the way she deserved, but I knew there was no time. I was on her before she had time to react, and in seconds she was in pieces on the floor. Using Bella's torch, I set her on fire. Edward worked to reattach Alice's head to her small body. I thought things were fine as I watched Bella comfort her father. That was until she suddenly slumped over.

"Bella!" I screamed as I heard her heart beating erratically. My little girl was dying.

**BPOV**

Burning. My whole body was engulfed in flames. Good thing I couldn't open my eyes because the sight of charred flesh would have probably freaked me the fuck out. I could hear people talking all around me. My poor Jasper's voice was absolutely frantic, asking if it was working. I had no clue what he was talking about, but I wished that I could comfort him.

I had a total Kill Bill "move your big toe" moment with my arm, and willed myself to reach for him. I didn't seem capable of speech, but I did feel my arm move. At least I think I did. It was hard to get past the feeling of being on fire. I almost felt guilty for the way I had lit Jeb's dick on fire if that was how it felt. Almost. They did have my dad, after all.

Charlie. Poor Charlie. Jasper had changed him, though, so he would be all right. I hoped that he wouldn't be too sad about me dying because surely that was what was happening to me. My mind seemed to be in utter chaos, replaying the events of the battle over and over.

At least one good thing had come from it all. Paul finally found his imprint. She was a tiny little thing. Pale blonde, almost white hair, golden tanned skin, and giant blue eyes; and as soon as he laid eyes on her everything else was forgotten. I noticed he hesitated slightly at leaving me with only Embry for a guard, but I knew the look in his eye and told him to go. I couldn't have borne it if his imprint died because he was protecting me.

"Little girl, can you open your eyes? Carlisle says everything is coming along all right. It will all be okay soon, I promise. Charlie is good in case you're wondering. He hasn't made a sound. Alice is taking care of him. Hasn't left his side, actually." He snickered a little and I wondered what amused him.

"Everyone is all right. Emmett said it was too easy. Their friends from Alaska finally showed up. I have to tell ya', little girl, watching Edward try and dodge Tanya is hilarious. She wants his dick some kinda' bad. If he hadn't had it so bad for you, I would think he was gay." Another chuckle from my man.

Things were quiet for a while. Just me and the raging inferno going on in my body. I kept wondering why no one had put me out. Slowly, my mind seemed to take over and it was almost like a rubber band around my brain. I played with it a little, expanding and retracting it. I found that if I concentrated hard, I could almost fully extinguish the burning.

Time seemed to simply stand still. Playing with the band in my head only afforded me so much entertainment. I wished I could move or do anything, really. I tried counting, but that got old quick, let me tell you. Instead I replayed every memory I could think of. Eventually my memories were interrupted by my heart thundering in my chest. All I could think about was the fire that seemed to flame around my heart. Then it just stopped. All of it. Stopped.

I could hear every breath that the people in the room were letting out. I smelled every scent. Finally I opened my eyes and was met with my Major, smiling sweetly at me.

"Damn, little girl, I'm so glad to see your eyes open. That was the longest three days of my life."

"Three days?" I asked, but quickly covered my mouth. _Was that my voice?_

"Bells?" Charlie? It was Charlie… but it wasn't. Gone were the strands of gray and the wrinkles on his face. He looked more like my brother than my father. Of course, he would look even younger without the porn stache he was sporting even as one of the undead.

"Dad?" The shock was evident in my voice.

"Your old man looks good, huh?" Alice piped up, practically bouncing beside Charlie. I looked between them as he smiled down indulgently at her.

"Oh! Ew! You and MY DAD?" I asked Alice and everyone erupted into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, please, if we're looking at age, I'm old enough to be his grandmother." Alice rolled her golden eyes.

"So weird," I shook my head.

"Well, it looks as if, like her father, Bella was made for this life." Carlisle stepped into the room and I looked at Jasper for clarification.

"Right now you should both be practically insane with thirst. Nothing else normally matters to a newborn. How does your throat feel?"

"Fine. A little scratchy, but nothing major, why?" I looked around the room hoping to understand what he was getting at.

"When we're thirsty our throat feels like it's on fire, and apparently, you and your father have been graced with the ability to avoid that all together. Right now your throat should be on fire. You should be completely focused on wanting blood. Your emotions should be all over the place. Hell, you should both be giving us hell." Jasper looked a little frustrated, but I suspect it was more because he hated not knowing what to expect.

"Yep, baby girl, apparently you and me… we're just awesome like that." I looked at Charlie like he had grown a second head.

"How long have you been awake? And have you been hanging out with Emmett, old man?" I smirked at him and had he been human he would have been blushing.

"Someone wants to see you both," Edward spoke up, apparently reading the mind of whoever was there.

"What is that smell?" Both Charlie and I asked, covering our noses.

All the other vampires in the room burst into laughter.

"That, would be your friend, Jake," Jasper answered.

"Damn, someone needs to tell that boy to take a shower." Charlie joked.

"All the wolves smell like that. Definitely keeps us from wanting to eat them, that's for sure. I think it's one of their defense mechanisms. You get used to it." Jasper winked at me.

"Well, bring him up!" I felt a little like Alice with the bouncing I was doing. I was alive… Charlie was alive… and I could have the love of my life while keeping my dad and my pack friends.

"Hey, Charlie, hey Bells." Jake looked a little wary of us, but my smile must have told him everything was okay.

"Hey, Jake! How's Ness? How's Paul and his imprint?"

"One question at a time, Bells!" Jake chuckled. "Ness is good. She's been worried about you but now I can report that you seem to be doing just fine. And Paul… well, his girl, Carrie, she's a little shaken. She has had trouble understanding what all went on, but he's helping her. Seeing him be so… sweet, has been a bit comical. He's still a bastard to all the rest of us, but the imprint demands that he be whatever she needs, and right now she needs gentle. He says he's sorry for leaving you, Bells. He feels really bad but the imprint demands precedence."

"You tell him that I completely understand, and that I am in no way mad at him. And tell him I said congrats."

"I will, Bells."

We spent hours talking about what exactly happened and I found out exactly how I had gone from knocking on death's door to being a vampire. Apparently Jasper almost lost his mind and bit me mid freak-out. Fortunately he didn't try to eat me like he did Charlie, but with me being his mate, I figured that was a given. Apparently, when Maria knocked into me she broke some ribs, puncturing my lung and in the end, putting too much pressure on my heart. I was still pretty sore that I didn't get to torch the bitch myself.

I also found out that Charlie's change only lasted two days, and when he woke up he was met with Alice smiling at him and that was that. After years of searching, Alice found her mate… in my father. So weird, right? I thoroughly enjoyed watching Edward fend off the advances of the single women of the Denali clan. When Tanya grazed his peen through his pants and he screamed like a girl I almost died again from laughter. Poor virginal Edward. I decided then that we needed to find him his mate before he ended up getting gang-banged my three horny succubae. Can a guy even get gang banged?

Watching Charlie and Alice make goo goo eyes at each other was only slightly disturbing. I was just far too glad to see my dad happy after years of being alone to really care.

"Come on, Charlie. Do it for me?" Alice batted her eyelashes playfully.

"I've had it for too long. I would look weird without it. And it's not like I can grow it back!" Alice was begging Charlie to rid himself of the stache.

While they duked it out I strolled over to where Jasper was looking thoughtfully out the window.

"What's going through that head of yours, Major?" I lightly ran my fingers down his toned back.

"Just finding this all a bit much to take in." He looked so forlorn. Almost like he wasn't happy anymore.

"Has me being a vampire changed things for you?" I asked sadly.

"What? No!" He immediately grasped on to exactly what I had been asking. _Does it change the way you feel about me?_

"Then explain. You look like you just lost your best friend. I'm still here, Jay. I'm still me." I reassured him, burying my face in his chest.

"It's not that. I'm just… sort of jealous."

"What? What are you jealous of, baby?" I didn't understand what there was to be jealous of.

"You and your dad. You both woke up to this life in complete control. Hell, neither of you has even hunted yet and you are having absolutely no problems with it. When I woke up I was like a rabid animal. I killed inconspicuously and with no remorse."

"But, Jay, my dad and I are the exception, not the rule. Edward described basically the same thing. The only difference was that he had Carlisle to guide him. You cannot be blamed for the way you were awakened to this life. Maria was a sadistic bitch who only cared about power, not who she used to get it. She wanted you ruled by blood so that she could use it to control you. You, yourself admitted it was one of the main reasons for using newborns. You are far too hard on yourself, baby." My poor man had been through more than I could ever imagine. What I witnessed with Maria had been nothing compared to what he had lived through. Years and years of battle hardened him, and there he was feeling jealous over something he never had any control over.

"How about you and me go for a hunt, then maybe we can sneak off for some alone time?" He nodded his agreement as my lips capturing his kept him from speaking.

So, my first hunt was… a disaster. I was the world's first clumsy vampire and the only way I was even able to capture anything was due to my super human speed. Jasper's sour mood was long gone as he joined Emmett in raucous laughter as I stumbled around loudly, scaring every animal within a five mile radius.

"Never could take her fishing as a human. She always scared the fish. Hell, she ended up spending more time falling out of the boat then she did actually sitting in it." Charlie joined in with the teasing and I very maturely stuck my tongue out at him.

"Oh, you can all kiss my ass!" I stomped my foot, only succeeding in making them laugh harder as I put a giant hole in the ground.

"But, little girl," Jasper began while trying to stifle his chuckles, "everything else has just come so easy to you. Odds were that there would be something to give you a fit."

"You're all a bunch of assholes!" I stomped (carefully) back to the house and was met on the porch by the rest of the Cullens and Denali's, as well as Jake. Apparently Alice actually had a vision of my disastrous effort and shared with the rest of them. Even Edward was snickering.

"Et tu, Edward?" I asked sadly, making him laugh even harder.

"Aw, Bella, come on, let's take you in and get you cleaned up." Alice tried to soothe me but I could practically feel her mirth. Then I heard the tell-tale click of a cell phone camera. I glared at the culprit.

"Aw, come on, Bells… it will make the guys feel better. They've been pretty down since you were changed. And it will make Ness feel better since she couldn't be here." Jake stuck out his bottom lip in a pitiful attempt at a pout.

"Whatever. Will you tell them all that I love them and hope that I'm able to see them soon? And I'm sure Charlie would love to see Billy at some point."

"Sure, sure, Bells. I guess I better get going. But I'll be back to see you soon, okay? I'd hug you, but you smell like ass." He scrunched up his nose and I punched his arm. "Shit, that actually hurts now!" He rubbed his sore arm, but walked away chuckling.

I was getting out of the shower when Jasper walked into the bathroom.

"What do you want, Judas?" I teased, wrapping the towel around myself.

"Hmm, well, I came up here to ask you a question, but it can wait." He snatched the towel and quickly had me pressed up against the wall.

"You know, I have wanted to do this ever since you lit Jeb's shit on fire. You were so hot. Don't get me wrong, I was scared shitless for you, but you were my match in every way. My goddess of war, so to speak. It was a thing of beauty."

"Really?" My voice sounded all breathy, like something you would hear in a cheap porn.

"Hell yes," He answered. I hadn't even heard him unbuckle his pants but in a flash, my legs were around him and he was inside of me. I growled low in my throat and for the first time since I awakened I felt out of control.

"Jasper, I want… I want…. Faster… fuck, harder!" He complied all too willingly.

I moaned embarrassingly loud causing him to smirk. I just couldn't seem to get enough. I wanted him closer, even though there was no way for that to even be possible. When I came my teeth latched onto his shoulder and he followed shortly after, my name on his lips. I felt myself pushing my own venom into him. I wanted him to carry my smell the way I carried his. I wanted everyone to know that he was mine. In that moment I understood Jasper's feelings of jealousy and rage – his desire to mark me. I immediately felt guilt over everything I put him through.

"Little girl, I feel your guilt and I'm assuming it has to do with you marking me?" I nodded, but he needed to know that it was more than that. So I explained to him exactly how I felt about all the shit I put him through. There was no way that I could have understood as a human, the complete mating pull. It was an all-consuming desire; a flame that never burned out. The thought of another laying a single finger on Jasper made me want to destroy something.

"I think we're going to owe Esme a new wall," Jasper snickered breaking me from my thoughts.

I turned around and noticed the Bella sized hole.

"Oops." I giggled.

"Damn, I love when you do that." I felt Jasper harden again, still inside of me.

It caused me to growl. Another thing about vampire nature I was beginning to understand. Horny = Growling.

"Damn, I love that too," Jasper whispered and with a growl of his own thrust his hips. Hard.

The hole in the wall got bigger before I used my newborn strength to push him to the floor. We rolled around, our hips moving against each other as we battled for dominance. It was rough! Hair was pulled, nails scratched down backs, and let's not forget the completely destroyed bathroom. When we finally finished and pulled away from one another we decided that getting dressed was a must, or else we would never pull ourselves apart.

We were met at the bottom of the stairs by several sets of eyes. Emmett was barely containing his laughter as he took us in. Edward couldn't look me in the eye, and I could only imagine what he saw in Jasper's mind. Alice and my dad were missing, and Peter and Char and Esme and Carlisle looked uncharacteristically rumpled.

"Um, I think I may have been projecting a bit," Jasper nodded toward Esme who was straightening her hair out with her hands.

"Ya' think?" Emmett exclaimed. "Dayum! Everyone had to retreat to the woods to get it on! Poor Eddie was trying to evade these three," he nodded toward the Denali sisters "but I think Tanya may have caught him."

I looked at Tanya who blatantly wiped her mouth and winked at Edward.

"Ah, shit," He groaned and we all burst into laughter.

Charlie and Alice finally returned. Alice's hair sticking up all over the place, and Charlie was sans stache, grinning like an idiot.

"EW! Just EW! You guys totally did it! EEEEEEEEW!" I covered my eyes, hoping that it would erase the thought from my mind.

"Hey, at least you didn't have to hear me! You and Jasper weren't exactly quiet! So, ew, right back at you!" Charlie scrunched up his nose in distaste.

Everyone laughed even harder, with the exception of Charlie and me. We were far too grossed out. But even still, it seemed as though everything had come together. The old me would have thought it was too perfect and been waiting for the other shoe to drop, but the new me simply sat back in the arms of my man, and enjoyed it.

**Soooo…. What did you think? I know that you guys are going to tell me that this is too short, but I just don't want to drag it out and make up a story line just for the sake of it. The characters have spoken and this is where it ends. I was going to do an epilogue, but after writing and rewriting, just decided that this is where is should end. Everyone is just where they should be ;)**

**Thanks again for all your support and the love! My readers are the BEST! And, Nostalgicmiss… you are my brain sister! I never would have written this if not for you. I love ya', girl!**


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